Although Toluwani Elijah seems rather small at age 14, it is his frailty that first draws attention to him .
The Junior Secondary School III pupil, whose favourite subject is Agricultural Science, has never been present at an assembly since he started attending school.
Elijah was not
always this frail. Up till when he was three years old, he was like any child of his age. He was adventurous and playful. However, shortly after he turned three, things took a downward turn .He has congenital heart defect
Play times with other kids of his age gradually slowed down as Elijah became frequently weak . His growth also slowed down noticeably.
At his parents home behind the burnt plant market in Ketu, Lagos State, where PUNCH Metro met him, he said, “I cannot stand for more than a few minutes. As a result, I don’t attend the school assembly; in fact, since I started attending school, I have never gone for an assembly.
“I just go to school and sit in the classroom. During break time, the same thing happens. I don’t go out to play. I have no stamina for that. While my classmates play football, I just sit on the chair. If I want something, I ask a friend of mine, Ahmed who stays back with me, to help.”
Although his school is close to his residence, Elijah’s father who, is a commercial bus driver, has an arrangement with a tricycle operator to take him to school and bring him back every day.
Worried by the development, his mother, Idowu, sought medical assistance.
“I took him to a specialist hospital at Orinle-Ignamu . They told me it was a heart condition but assured me that it would get better as Elijah grew older,” Idowu said.
Unfortunately, she said, it is the opposite that occurred as the years progressed.
“Elijah is the first of four children. His younger siblings noticed as they all grew up together that Elijah couldn’t do the same things that they did. He couldn’t play with them or their neighbour’s children. He does not also eat the same food his sibblings.
“They know that something is wrong wit their brother even though no one has explained to them what the situation is. Over the last one year, Elijah’s condition has deteriorated as he is always having fever and cold.
“Last year, we noticed Elijah was always coming down with a cold or fever so I took him to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital, Ikeja and after some medical examinations, the doctor told me he had a hole in his heart. He said the condition was getting worse and that that was why Elijah was always falling ill. We began watching his diet; he stopped taking fried food and cold drinks.”
A copy of Elijah’s medical report from LASUTH said he was diagnosed with a loud pansystolic murmur maximal in the left lower sterna(ribs).
It reads in part, “There was also a softer ejection systolic murmur maximal in the second right upper intercostals space. These murmurs are suggestive of a ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis.
“I have advised the mother that he requires definitive surgery to correct the congenital heart defect. He requires total correction which is best done in a cardiac centre abroad with experience with this pathology.
“A quotation from a Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune, India was obtained and this surgery would cost him $11,000, exclusive of transportation costs. He remains under medical management with the paediatric cardiology team till funds are raised for his definitive surgery.”
The medical report was signed by LASUTH consultant cardiothoracic surgeon, Mr. Bode Falase.
There was no response from LASUTH’s Medical Director, Prof. David Oke, when PUNCH Metro contacted him. He did not reply the calls or text messages made to his phone.
-Punch
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We hope and pray Tolu gets help ASAP!
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