Lower Limbs Deformity Patient Needs N1.5m for Rescue Operation
Miss Blessing Maria John, a 21-year old lower limb deformity patient, is appealing for N1.5 million support to urgently undergo a third operation faced with the challenge of not being able to walk again.
She had her first surgery at the National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos in August’ 2019 in an effort to correct her severe bowing of both limbs and deformities, using the Ring Fixator/Taylor Spatial Frame due to the grotesque nature of her deformities, and a second surgery in July’ 2020 to effect some adjustments, arising from the first operation on the legs to make it possible for her to walk.
Though the operations were said to be successful, doctors had warned that unless she carried out a third that might probably be her final to fully correct the anomalies, she could becoming bed- ridden.
Unable to raise the necessary funds for the operation, Blessing has not been able to do that since then, and her condition has continued to get worse.
With her health condition daily plummeting, Blessing returned to the hospital on Monday, November 28, 2022. Her sight was pitiable, and doctors immediately prescribed an x-ray for her and thereafter stated again that she immediately carries out the same operation she has continued to evade for lack of money at a cost of N1.5million.
For Blessing, getting the money for the surgery is better imagined. How will she get it, keep the issue to herself, become bed-ridden and miserably die?
As she remains in misery in her mother’s one-room apartment in the Ewu area of Oshodi, a Lagos suburb, she again attracted the attention of THISDAY this week, thanking the medium on its effort on her in the past, and appealing in tears for urgent assistance to help reach out to the public to quickly aid her to raise the N1.5million to carry out the operation and save her life.
She prayed for God’s blessings for all that have given her help in the past and appealed for public support once more to be able to undergo this operation and ensure that all they had committed on her before now do not go in vain.
“The doctors are saying that unless I undergo this operation, I will become far worse than I was before, become bed-ridden and consequently die in frustration,” Blessing said, pleading that all assistance towards raising the N1.5million to enable her get the surgery done should be made to John Blessing Maria, GTBank Account No. 0468466784.
Blessing had experienced a 12-year unabating harsh pains from severe bowing of both limbs and dropped out of school in the Senior Secondary School (SSS) 1 in 2016, unable to walk to and fro from school anymore.
Her hope-raising medical report signed by Dr. Izuagba Emeka B., Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Padiatric Orthopaedics and Limb Reconstruction Unit, NOHIL, dated March 26, 2019 and entitled: Re: Medical Report on Ijachi Blessing Maria/ Female/17years, Hospital No. 639273, reads: “The Above named patient of our hospital was first seen on 17/09/2018 with complaints of severe bowing of both limbs of 12years duration. There is associated knee pains, difficulty in walking or running.
“She initially presented to the hospital seven years ago for treatment but defaulted as she could not afford the cost of the required surgery. The deformities have since progressively worsened up to the present state.
“On presentation, she was thoroughly re-examined and a diagnosis of severe Bilateral Infantile Blounts disease was made following clinical assessment and X-ray imaging studies.
“She requires a surgical treatment of gradual correction of lower limb deformities, using Ring Fixator/Taylor Spatial Frame due to the grotesque nature of the deformities. A surgical assessment has already been given to her detailing the cost estimates required for the surgery.”
Blessing lost her father at a very tender age.
