Don’t let him die

Ibrahim, Stella Monye’s son, is in the throes of pains. Don’t let him die. But every second counts.

The last we came public about Ibrahim and his health issues, it was to announce a pledge of N1 million, from a kind Nigerian who would rather remain anonymous, to the Ibrahim N20 million appeal fund.

But months after, that pledge has remained what it was — a pledge.

“The man is not even taking my calls again,” says Stella, the distraught mother. “Never taking my calls. Never returning my texts.”

Indeed, despite The Nation’s campaign in aid of this fund, by near-daily donation of advert space, all it has grossed is N487, 000.

But even this amount — puny, given the N20 million target for Ibrahim to access corrective surgery in the United States, after previous surgeries in Nigeria and India had failed — showed the generous and empathetic spirit of Nigerians.

Given the crunchy economic times, and cutting across income groups, Nigerians have dipped hands into empty pockets but brought out something.

Among those that made inquiries, and later donated, was Prof. Femi Osofisan, emeritus professor of Theatre Arts, at the University of Ibadan and former newspaper columnist.

But no big donors has chipped in anything, with the situation making the mother distraught and driving the son into what the mother fears may be depression, in-between bouts of excruciating pains.

“I always tell him not to shut his room door,” Stella told The Nation. “That is what he does when he just sinks into himself, and everything just bounces off him. Still every morning, I try to rally his hope and tell him help would come and he would get his life back. But,” she paused, “I only speak with faith, given how little we have been able to raise.”

But even that little has come in handy. Apart from his dark moods, Ibrahim’s condition, the mother fears, is degenerating, pushing another crisis.

Stella explains: “The catheter, a device inserted in his lower abdomen to the bladder, has ruptured his bladder. It is to pass urine to an outside bag attached to it. Though it is changed every two weeks to avoid infection, it many times refuses to detach, not only causing him unbearable pains but also making him bleed inside.”

He also has lacerated kidney, which requires a fresh but costly laboratory test to determine the extent of damage, before commencing adequate treatment. But the good news is, from the doctor’s opinion, the kidney is treatable.

Still, the not-so-good news: even if it heals, everything would come to nought, without the corrective surgery which, he added, should take place without much delay.

However, that looks remote, given the difficulty in raising funds, even as Ibrahim’s condition becomes more critical by the day.

This condition notwithstanding, Nigerians have been sympathetic towards Ibrahim’s cause, even if the treatment fund target has not been met.

One of such is Hon. Lola Akande, the Lagos State commissioner for Women Affairs. According to Stella, Mrs. Akande, aside from pledging to donate to the fund, wrote to the Lagos State House of Assembly, notifying the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, on the Ibrahim condition; and the imperative to quickly raise funds to help.

In response, the Assembly has pledged to chip in their own “little” contributions.

Letters have also been written to many quarters, public and private, soliciting for support.

In the public sector, letters have gone to the Governor’s Office in Delta (Stella’s home state), and Edo, the two that used to form Bendel, Stella’s native state for much of her earlier years, when she honoured Nigeria, home and abroad, with her dramatic and musical talent.

In the private sector, a letter has also been despatched to the Dangote Foundation, which has a strong record of supporting causes like these, aside from those to well-heeled and charitable individuals that can help.

But the response to these letters has been rather poor, as proved by the little fund raised so far.

Ibrahim had a freak accident in 1999, when her mother was away on national assignment, working hard with other artistes, under the late Christy Essien-Igbokwe, on the cultural aspects of the FIFA U2O World Cup, popularly known here as Nigeria 99.

After eight surgeries, the latest being in India, Ibrahim is yet to get his life back, because all of them have failed, leaving the patient in worse state than before.

That has necessitated a corrective surgery which Dr. Ayo Gomih, medical director at the Urology Centre, at Indiana, USA, has said has a chance of correcting the defects.

These defects are damaged organs: Ibrahim’s left kidney, his bladder and his uretha. But the complicated nature of the surgery accounts for the high cost — N20 million.

The surgical sojourn would take one month: pre-surgical work-up, the actual surgery and post-surgery care, observation and recuperation.

Mother and child are scared stiff, as the days roll by and nothing appears to be happening.

Ibrahim’s days and nights are a relay pains, more pains and yet more excruciating pains.

Please help Ibrahim to get his life back; and relieve a loving mother of an agony that is now 18 years at a stretch.

Please contribute to the Save Ibrahim Fund.

Here is the account detail: Stella Monye, First Bank account number 2021451638. Or you can give her a call on: 2348037305052. You can also call 08054504169.