Special report, By Oladipo Airenakho
When on July 28, 2016 Alltimepost.com first published a pathetic story about four-year old Testimony Atoe, who needed to undergo medical surgery to correct a medical condition, called bladder exstrophy, it was unknown that there were more heart-wrenching details his mother, Mrs. Charity Atoe, did not reveal.
Apart from the discovery that Mrs Charity Atoe had been abandoned by her husband and father of Testimony, Mr. Osabuohien Atoe, she has been struggling to survive and look after two other of her children.
Since Alltimepost.com publication, Testimony’s condition, not only have well-meaning individuals make enquiries through phone calls on how to make financial donations for his prompt medical treatment, but others sent their representatives to confirm the veracity of the report.
Testimony who was born with this rare medical condition, according to our findings was first operated on by Dr E. Eguakhide at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) two weeks after his birth in 2011.
He was born on October 10, 2011. The operation was the first of four recommended series of surgeries to correct the congenial abnormality.
Upon birth, the boy had been presumed not to have a penis, but following series of test doctors found that he had a manhood that was covered by the bladder which needed to be corrected
Testimony’s ordeal has not been devoid of fraudulent story, as his mother, Mrs. Atoe alleged that her son’s condition was used by a con artist to swindle them of over N5m from donations made by members of the public which was in the account set up by the suspect.
According to her the woman helped launch the fund from which the surgery was to be funded, but disappeared with millions of naira allegedly raised through a Zenith bank account in Lagos.
After that ordeal, the struggle to save Testimony’s life continued in Benin City, Edo State with Dr E. Eguakhide at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) where she was given a medical estimate of N300, 000 as the cost of the operation.
Because of her poor financial situation, there was no way she could come up with the money.
Consequently she wrote a letter of appeal to Edo State Ministry of Women Affairs for assistance with several follow-ups, but up till now the ministry has not responded.
According to Mrs. Atoe, whenever she went to the Ministry she was usually told by one Mr Amadasun who initially received her letter on behalf of the Commissioner that such sum as was being requested in her letter was not possible now.
So far, several attempts by Alltimepost.com to speak to Mr. Amadasun and the commissioner by telephone have not been successful.
Following Alltimpepost.com report in July, a United States of America-based humanitarian organization, known as the League of Committed Friends in Boston decided to foot the surgical operation bill.
Comrade Emmanuel Okunmwendia, Publisher of Alltimepost.com who is also the President of the organization said the group was committed to seeing the operation through so that the boy can live a normal life.
The organization made contact with UBTH to let them know that the money for the operation would not be a problem, but unfortunately, the first operation date of August 2, 2016 was postponed due to the industrial action embarked upon by the hospital’s Resident Doctors.
Testimony was given another date of August 19 by his physician, Dr. Eguakhide with the hope that the strike would be called off by or before that day.
On that day, the boy was taken to the hospital by his mother and was met there by this reporter who doubled as the League of Committed Friends’ Representative, ready to make a deposit for the operation.
They were told again that it would not be possible because the doctors had not called off their strike action.
Alltimepost.com recently found out that Mrs. Atoe and her children have been kicked out of the rented single room where they resided until August this year in Benin.
According to her, they were evicted due to inability to pay rent and an alleged complaint by the landlord that they could no longer tolerate the odour from Testimony’s medical condition.
Consequently, she and her children were forced to move to the village. Prior to that, their condition of living in the single room was deplorable.
When this reporter visited in August, she noticed his look and thereafter decided to open another chapter in her struggle for life with her children.
There was practically nothing that a woman should have in a home that could be seen anywhere in the single room.
There was no mattress, no mat, and the glass windows were all broken.
The children and their mother slept on the floor and took each day as it came.
Mrs. Atoe further revealed to Alltimepost.com that the stress of seeing Testimony in his current condition, and taking care of him and her other children, as a single mother make her life very miserable.
Because of her illiteracy, she could not comprehend the enormity and extensiveness of the financial cost of the medical operation at UBTH.
It was only when she got to the hospital on August 2, 2016 that a nurse who went through Testimony’s record explained to her that only the cost of operation was fixed at N300, 000 and did not include drugs and hospital bed.
UBTH Resident Doctors’ Strike Stalls Testimony’s Surgical Operation.
For the second time in the month of August, the University of Benin Management face-off with its residents doctors again stalled the commencement of the medical process for little Testimony Atoe.
And for Mrs Atoe who had hoped she will finally be relieved of years of mental and physical anguish, occasioned by her son’s precarious situation, it was a devastating disappointment.
It was just too much for her. The pent-up frustration and stress finally reached a crescendo and gave way to tears.
She broke down and wept bitterly in the premise of the Consultant of the Out Patient Department of the Hospital when the reason for postponement was explained to her.
She could not understand why the doctors told her to bring him back in two weeks time again after an earlier postponement.
Even as she recounted her experience of the past two weeks before coming down to the UBTH from Uromi, in Esanland with little Testimony it was visible she was having a hard time.
She explained in tears that prior to the shift of the initial clinic date to August 19, 2016 by Dr Eguakhide, she herself had been sick with malaria and unable to afford the treatment.
Although there is an ongoing nation-wide industrial action by the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in the country over the non implementation of agreements by the Federal government, however, there seems not be a total consensus amongst the ranks of the associations for the industrial action as not all of them are involved.
Whatever the trade dispute between the ARDs and the Federal government is, what is undisputable is the fact that patients are dying and suffering in the nation’s hospitals.
This is due to lack of compassion and empathy by fellow human beings who call themselves doctors, on one hand, and those policy makers and administrators, charged with making public hospitals well equipped, on the other hand.
A visit to the Public relations department of UBTH to enquire about the industrial action and when it was likely to be called off was not quite uplifting.
Alltimepost.com was told that there were lots of internal shenanigan going on in the hospital due in part to the non inauguration of the hospital board, and partly due to alleged unrealistic emoluments and allowance being demanded by the resident doctors.
According to Mr. Chris, the assistant spokesperson of the hospital, the hospital management recognizes that there are some challenges facing the medical institution, “but it is not insurmountable.”
He promised to get back to this reporter on how to go about the deposit payment of the medical bill for little Testimony after meeting with the management.
At the UBTH resident Doctors’ Secretariat, Alltimepost.com reporter met Dr Owen Omoregbe and Dr Oseghale Eustace, President and Secretary General of the association respectively and was told by Dr Oseghale that the industrial action was a localized one.
The Secretary General of the UBTH Resident Doctors explained that the industrial action was called to address such issues as the dearth of basic hospital amenities as medical consumables which the hospital management did not seem able to provide for patients.
If only the management of UBTH can address the issues raised by them, then, the members of the association in the hospital will be ready to return to work, he said.
Though Alltimepost.com gathered that consultants who are senior medical colleagues in the hospital have waded into the trade dispute with a view to brokering an agreement, a quick and definite timeline for the return of resident doctors could not however be obtained from the two sides.
All they could say was that the industrial strike action could be called off anytime from now.
A new realization dawned on this reporter when in an attempt to enquire about the possibility of the medical surgery being done in a private medical facility, he was told only UBTH has the facility to carry out the medical procedure on little Testimony.
During a phone interview with Dr Eguaikhide, he advised that caution be exercised as there is nowhere in the state that the medical equipment needed for the medical procedure on Testimony can be found except in UBTH.
However on Monday September 26, 2016, Alltimeost.com publisher, Mr. Emmanuel Okunmwendia called and spoke to Dr. Eguakhide from the U.S. on how to move forward with Testimony’s case.
Mr. Okunmwendia had demanded that Dr. Eguakhide refer the boy to another hospital with the capability to handle the operation since the UBTH cannot do it because of the strike.
At the end of the conversation, he agreed to send the boy to another hospital where the operation can be done and requested that he sees him on Friday for the referral.
For little Testimony and his traumatized mother, the wait for medical attention and care has been their greatest nightmare.
The most pathetic of it all is seeing persons who have sworn to uphold the Socratic medical oath lounging or strolling about, feeling unconcerned despite the pains on the faces of patients who have come to see them because of one ailment or the other. It is a harrowing experience.
The battle to save little Testimony is one, while another is an urgent rehabilitation of the family, now living as destitute, otherwise his surgery would be an exercise in futility.
This is where the public needs to come in. You can partner with the League of Committed Friends in the Testimony project.
Mrs Atoe can be directly reached at: 08151656832.
