The family of three-year-old Chidinma Esther Michael is soliciting N7 million for a hole-in heart surgery.
Born on October 11th 2020, in the Egbeda area of Lagos, baby Chidinma was said to have fallen critically ill at three weeks old.
It was, however, shocking to the parents when the doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Idi-Araba confirmed her with a hole in the heart.
The family soon realised that her condition could have been why the mother, Mrs Angela Michael, often fell sick and bled while pregnant with Chidinma.
Speaking with our reporter, Angela decried that Chidinma’s case requires surgery.
“My daughter became very sick at three weeks old. My husband and I took her back to the hospital where she was born,” she recounted. “The doctors admitted her for some time; then they referred us to LASUTH, Ikeja.”
Although Chidinma was placed on oxygen and had a blood transfusion, she couldn’t get the test done because her family couldn’t raise the bill.
Angela narrated her ordeal. “My husband lost his job when I was three months pregnant due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
“The bank he was working at laid off some workers. It affected him as well.”
Sadly, Angela remembered her delicate pregnancy experience. “During my pregnancy, I would fall sick regularly.
“I would even bleed, which worried my husband and asked me to stop working.”
While admitted at LASUTH for one week at age three weeks, “The doctors examined her and told us a test would be conducted on her because of the sound they could hear.
“We couldn’t raise the money for the test. So, the hospital discharged us.”
“We got home only for her situation to worsen. We rushed her back to LASUTH. We have taken her to different hospitals.”
According to the mother, it was at LUTH, through the help of some Nigerians, that the doctors examined her and confirmed a large hole in her heart.
I’m begging every Nigerian to come to the rescue of my child who needs assistance
“The doctor said only surgery can close the hole. N7 million is the bill. That’s big money. We don’t have that kind of money,” she lamented.
For donations to save little Chidinma, the family pleads with Nigerians and every individual to send to her account on 0834120283 Michael Chidinma Esther GTB.
