Must Read: Double jeopardy for Ursula!

*Ursula Nwachukwu

IMAGINE a life of uncertainty. Imagine a death sentence hanging over your head. Imagine knowing that help is next door but you cannot access it simply because you don’t have the means? These aptly explain the predicament of 27 – year- old Ursula Nwachukwu, who is battling with a potentially fatal disorder described as End Stage Kidney Failure in medical parlance.
Ursula’s two kidneys have packed up. Her condition is compounded by uterine fibroid – another life-threatening ailment.
A first glance gives the false impression that she is in the last trimester of pregnancy. Alas! She is not.
She is in
double jeopardy. Both conditions are usually a one-way ticket to death if not urgently addressed.
She bloats up in size day by day, but, deadly as her condition is, doctors are hopeful that there is a reprieve. With  N2.7 million, Ursula will be on her feet again.
Before now, the young woman was full of expectations. A graduate of accountancy from  University of Lagos, UNILAG, she was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in January 2011, while awaiting her call-up for the National Youth Corps (NYSC). More pathetic is the fact that she was unable to make it to the NYSC camp. Ill health denied her that pleasure.
For Ursula and her guardian, Theodore Akojuru, life has not been easy since her diagnosis. Her life has been full of pain and anguish.
Akojuri, Ursula’s brother in-law, noted that since the diagnosis, she has been in and out of hospital seeking cure. The illness has taken her to Imo State where she undergoes dialysis twice/thrice weekly at Urlu Specialist Hospital. Information has it that her renal transplant would be done locally at the Specialist Hospital.
The hospital was recently upgraded and equipped with modern facilities by Governor Rochas Okorocha.
Akojuri is confident his in-law can be well attended to at the hospital, but is worried  the chronic level of poverty in the land is denying millions of people from accessing quality and  affordable treatment.
“Of late, she became very ill, we have been taking her from hospital to hospital. In January last year, after series of tests, she was discovered to have kidney failure. So she started dialysis. At first, my family and my wife’s family picked the bill, while we made plans to get the bulk money for her operation. But when the burden became  unbearable, we started looking for funds from individuals and organizations.
Medical examinations carried out by a consultant radiologist, Dr. C. U Ibekwe, indicated that Ursula’s two kidneys show grade three  renal disease and that there is free intraperitoneal fluid. It also indicated CRF with different kidney sizes, renal artery stenosis and urine fibroid.
Continuing, Akojuri  recalled his experience with an Imo Foundation allegedly set up by Governor Rochas Okorocha to cater for the needs of the less privileged. He said: “In our search for help, we took her to Imo Foundation. When we got there, she was number 30 on the list of people seeking help for kidney transplant. There, things are done the normal way and people are attended on first come, first served basis. We know that is how it should be, but because she is in a critical condition, we cannot let her wait her turn.
“This is a matter of life and death. This is why we decided to come to talk to the media. We want Nigerians at home and abroad to come to Ursula’s aid. She is to undergo two surgeries and we need help from everyone in any way possible to carry out these operations on her.
“Help us please. We don’t want anything to happen to Ursula. So, we are calling on individuals and all health foundations to come to our aid.
We gathered that the MTN Foundation has been doing a lot in this regard, and we are reaching out to the company for assistance.” If you are touched by Ursula’s story please send your donations to Mr. Theodore Akojuri, Diamond Acct. no. 002 605 4857 or call him on 08120094947.

Link: [http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/07/double-jeopardy-for-ursula/]

We appeal to kind-hearted persons out there to come to Ursula's aid. Any support or donation from you will be highly appreciated. Thanks and God bless!