Kunle ADELABU
Mrs Sanni Iyabo Afusat, the mother of Miss Ganiyat Sanni, a 17 years old victim of chronic kidney disease, has cried out to Nigerians for support for her daughter’s kidney transplant.
She resides at Ori-Okuta in Imota, Imota Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Laos State, Southwest, Nigeria, with Ganiyat and two other children.
According to Ganiyat’s medical report issued and signed by Dr T.I. Umeizudike, Consultant Nephrologist, on 26th of April, 2019, the cost of the transplant in Nigeria is put at N8, 500, 000. 00
Also in the medical report, Ganiyat was diagnosed with end stage kidney disease (ESRD) secondary to SLE and she needs regular hemodialysis (twice or thrice weekly).
The report also states that she will ultimately need a kidney transplant as a definitive treatment.
However, further findings from the doctor by a committee setup by the participants on THE IMPACT WhatsApp platform, a group which has embarked on a mission to #SaveSanniGaniyat, revealed that $15, 000 will be needed to carry out the transplant in India.
This cost is, however, without the flight fee for the victim, her mother and an assistant as well as accommodation and feeding cost. These expenses with the treatment fee, THE IMPACT gathered, would cost between $15, 000 and $25, 000.
Based on advice, Mrs Sanni and her daughter preferred to have the treatment in India. .
According to the report gathered, Ganiyat, who is a Senior Secondary School 3 student in Imota, has been on treatment for systematic lupus erythematic (SLE) since 2015.
It was also revealed that her two kidneys have failed while the one which her mother intends to donate for her has been certified by the doctor to be okay for her.
THE IMPACT gathered that her weekly hemodialysis treatment is about N100, 000, and this has made her mother to turned to begging on the streets of Imota for assistance.
Mrs Funke Awoyemi with Mrs sanni Afusat during THE IMPACT group’s visit
It was also gathered that the victim’s father is also sick and had left for their home town in Iwo, Osun State, for treatment about three years ago, leaving the poor woman all alone to cater for the sick girl.
When THE IMPACT team visited the Ori-Okuta home of the Sannis, a two-room apartment, it was discovered that Ganiat can hardly speak and eat and her body has significantly paled with swollen legs and stomach while she has also lost her hair.
Mrs Sanni, while speaking with THE IMPACT, stated that Ganiyat’s condition started in 2014 while she was 12 years old.
She stated that her neck started getting bigger after returning from school where she had gone to collect her report card.
“At first, we thought it was just an ordinary ailment and we took her to the General Hospital at Agbowa, where she was treated and returned home with us without any improvement. “
She explained that the situation prompted her to take her to her home town in Oyo State where she sought for traditional treatment.
“After the traditional treatment, there was a temporary relief but unfortunately, the ailment resurfaced and we went back to the General Hospital at Agbowa from where we were referred to the Ikorodu General Hospital.
“She was diagnosed at the hospital and several drugs were prescribed for her but we were never told the particular ailment she is suffering from.
“We were again forced to go back to Agbowa when her condition did not improve and it was from there that we were referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja.
“At LASUTH, we had series of tests and at a point, the doctors had to invite medical experts from Romarx who were also operating at the hospital.
“We had to embarked on another round of tests that drained our finances and they told us that she would get better but we have to be prepared to bear the cost. They also prescribed several drugs which she has been living on since then.
“I had to approached one of the doctors when I couldn’t bear it anymore to enquired about the ailment and he was taken aback that we have not been told about it since we have been taking her to hospitals.
Mrs Sanni shwong the group with bills and Ganiyat’s drugs
“It was the doctor that told me that she has kidney condition. “
She stated that it has not been easy for her to take care of her daughter alone, especially in term of finances.
Mrs Sanni also complained that due to lack of money, she has been unable to seek medical attention for Ganiyat for about 16 months now until recently when she was able to raise money again.
“We always run tests and buying drugs. There was no time that we went to the hospital that we would not run tests and get new prescription of drugs which are very costly.
“I always go round the streets of Imota to beg for money to fund her weekly dialysis which is about N100, 000. It has not been an easy task but with God and well spirited individuals, I have been able to cope this far. “
She appealed to members of the public to come to her aid as she is ready to donate one of her kidneys for her daughter’s transplant.
Meanwhile, members of THE IMPACT WhatsApp platform who have taken up the advocacy for Ganiyat’s treatment with the hashtag #SaveSanniGaniyat, have appealed to members of the public and government to intervene in her condition before it’s too late.
The members of the group have already being in touch with the victim and her family and they are out to raise the money needed for her weekly dialysis and transplant treatments.
“We, hereby, call upon our good spirited individuals, non-governmental organizations and government agencies to come to Ganiyat’s rescue”, the group stated in its release on THE IMPACT WhatssApp platform.
“We also call on our elected representatives to assist in taking her matter to the State government through the Commissioner for Health so that the case can be taken over by the government.”
THE IMPACT #SaveSanniGaniyat Committee, led by Mrs Funke Awoyemi, is planning to engage elected representatives, other government functionaries and privileged individuals in and outside Ikorodu for their intervention to save the poor girl.
Members on the platform and public are enjoined to pay into the designated account below:
F@S ROYAL LIMITED, 0019794810, Sterling Bank Plc.
For further clarification, please, call Funke on +2348093580537. #SaveSanniGaniyat.
