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Show me mercy – Kidney transplant patient – My grandma begs to sustain us both’

She begs to feed him and begs to pay some medical bills. Though the attention is not sufficient for a kidney patient, it has been…

She begs to feed him and begs to pay some medical bills. Though the attention is not sufficient for a kidney patient, it has been able to keep her son breathing. This has been her lot for over two years. “I won’t bury my only son. He will be the one to bury me. This kidney failure won’t kill him by the Grace of God,” Mrs. Charity Ihunna, told our correspondent in tears. Her only child, Chibuzor Ihunna, 38, has end stage kidney disease that is threatening his life.

“I am confused and I don’t really know what to do. However, I have told God I won’t bury my only child. He will bury me. My husband has retired and not much income is coming from him. When he was still working, PHCN was assisting but now, PHCN has stopped. I used to be a shy person but now, the shyness has gone and I have turned into a beggar to raise money to treat him,” she told Weekly Trust.

Chibuzor, a 2007 graduate of Accounting from the Abia State University is currently at home in Akute, Ogun State, because he can’t access the weekly dialyses that cost between N130,000 and N150,000 at the General Hospital Gbagada, Lagos, where he has been receiving treatment. “When I was diagnosed with the kidney disease, I was accessing dialyses sponsored by PHCN because my father was still in active service. The dialyses lasted about a year and six months before I had a kidney transplant sponsored by PHCN,” he said. He continued: “After two years, my dad retired from PHCN and when I had kidney failure again, I went to the PHCN and they directed me to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). They told me to bring my bills after the treatment. When I brought my bills, PHCN turned it down saying that my father had retired so they wouldn’t assist anymore.”

“I didn’t know that the treatment was that expensive and I was left to buy the drugs. I have been managing to treat myself in the past four years. At a point, I couldn’t cope, coupled with my family, so I lost the transplanted kidney again. That is how I got to this state, bloated and swollen. I can’t even eat,” Chibuzor said.

“I went to Gbagada General Hospital, Lagos and I was advised to do another transplant that will cost me N8 million. For now, they said I should be doing weekly dialyses twice or three times per week and that will cost between N130,000 and N150,000. I have not been able to afford that so I do dialyses once a week but that is not helping me. It has not been easy. I am the only child of my aged parents. I don’t have donors, no brothers and no sisters. I depend on individuals who have been assisting through direct donations into my account (Chibuzor Ihunna, First Bank Plc account number 4953010096557) but I will be grateful if I can get a more permanent solution – which is the transplant,” he told our correspondent.

He begged for mercy from Nigerians.  “I am begging Nigerians to show me more mercy like they have been doing. For over a week, I was due for dialysis but I don’t have money to do it. I will appreciate whatever contributions from individuals and organisations. My business has wound up because I couldn’t finance it when I took ill. Even my wife has left for her brother’s place with my two kids because she couldn’t cope. My first daughter is four and the last is two. I can only appeal to Nigerians,” he said.


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