Kidney: Man seeks N6.5m life line for wife

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The Chielos have been going from one hospital to the other since October 10, 2011, when Mrs. Uzoamaka Josephine Chielo suddenly took ill during a visit to Enugu for the wedding of her younger brother. Although she arrieved in Enugu, she couldn’t attend the wedding, as she was rushed to Niger Foundation Hospital, for urgent medical attention.

Her husband, 65-year-old Nigeria Railway Corporation retiree, Mr. Romanus Chielo, said Uzoamaka spent two months at Niger Foundation Hospital and was discharged when her health appeared stable enough for her to leave the hospital. He said the doctors did not suspect any problem with her kidneys.

Two weeks after her

return to Lagos, she took ill again and she was taken to a private hospital in Ikeja. From there, she was referred to a medical laboratory services outfit at Oshodi, where she also ran a series of tests. Again, nothing untoward was detected, though by then, her health had started to deteriorate drastically.

At a point, she underwent blood transfusion, during which she was infused with two pints of blood. Curiously, after the transfusion, her blood level started reading low. And as time went on, she became very frail and weak and had to be supported to walk.

The 47-year-old mother of six who hails from Eke village, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, but lives No 40, Ogundana Street, Off Allen Avenue, Ikeja Lagos, later spent about five months at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.

The family disclosed that it was at St. Nicholas Hospital, Victoria Island, Lagos, that a battery of tests revealed that Mrs. Chielo had renal failure. Her doctor informed her that her two kidneys had packed up. And, a month ago, she was diagnosed as having End Stage Kidney Disease. Since then, she has been undergoing dialysis.

In the first week following her diagnosis, she underwent dialysis daily, at the cost of N70,000 per session. By the second week and for financial reasons, the family could only pay for two sessions in a week, which, they said, was a huge drain on its finance.

Experts say the treatment for ESKD that most naturally replaces lost kidney function is a kidney transplant.

The Consultant Transplant Nephrologist at St. Nicholas Hospital, Dr. E. L. Bamgboye, explained that, “the kidneys have important roles in maintaining health. When healthy, they maintain the body’s internal equilibrium of water and minerals. The acidic metabolism end products that the body cannot get rid of via respiration are also excreted through the kidneys.”

He disclosed that dialysis was an imperfect treatment to replace kidney function because it does not correct the endocrine functions of the kidney.

He said, “Dialysis treatments replace some of these functions through diffusion (waste removal) and ultra filtration (fluid removal); but the best bet in Uzoamaka’s circumstance is kidney transplant.”

In the interim, the family has been told that her organ transplant will cost N6.5m. This has since posed a problem, as the family said it was an impossible amount for them to raise.

Romanus said, “We don’t have any money again because the money people have given us have been spent on drugs and dialysis.

“Our first child is 25 years old, while the last is 11. Three of these children are graduates, but none of them is working. After I was retired in 2002 at the Railway, the family has been living on the proceeds of the shop where Uzoamaka sells food. The shop has, however, stopped running because of her health.

“I was asked to retire in 2002, and I was paid some money in 2007, after which I have not received a dime from my former employers. Yet, since this problem started, I have spent over N2m on drugs and dialysis.

“I am willing to donate one of my kidneys for my wife and if mine is incompatible, my family members are willing to donate theirs just for her to live. But we need money to get through with these processes.”

As a result of her frail health, Uzoamaka has grown very lean and weak. When asked how she felt, she could only mutter “it is still worrying me.”

The hospital requires a deposit of N5m for the surgery, while N1.5m would be needed for post-surgery treatment.

A letter signed by Bamgboye for St. Nicholas Hospital explains it better. It reads, “The patient referenced above is on treatment for End Stage Renal Disease at our facility and she needs renal transplantation.

“Following the transplant, the recipient would need to remain on regular immunosuppressive to prevent rejection of the graft. The average cost of this in the first year would total N1.5m. Even though not to be deposited, the unit would seek assurance that she would have access to these funds over the period, to guard against rejection.”

Consequently, Mr. Chielo appeals to Enugu State Government and kind hearted Nigerians to come to his wife’s aid. “There is no other means for us to raise the amount,” he said.

Source link: ( http://www.punchng.com/health/kidney-man-seeks-n6-5m-life-line-for-wife/ )

We appeal to kind-hearted Nigerians or any other persons who could contact the Chielo's to support or offer any assistance they could, so we can save a life today. Thanks!