Skip to main content

Girl with hole-in-heart needs help

By


Godstime Dim…Inset are Mr and Mrs. Emmanuel Dim

Couple seeks $10,000 for corrective surgery in India 

THE birth of Godstime Chioma Dim, a two-year-old girl with a hole in the heart to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Ifeanyi Dim on August 21, 2013 was celebrated with pomp and pageantry.

For years, the couple, who already had two male children, prayed for a girl and when Godstime came, it was moment of joy for the family, who saw her as an angel sent by God.

This, the couple told The Guardian informed the choice of her name, God'stime and Chioma, meaning Good God. However, while the family was still savouring this great visitation from God, the devil struck and what should have been a bundle of joy turned out to be a source of worry and sorrow for the family.

Not only was the baby diagnosed of a multiple congenital anomalies; she was also diagnosed with a hole-in-the-heart. According to a medical report signed by the Head of Department of Pediatrics and Child Heart, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, (LASUTH) Dr. B. A. Animashaun, the girl's conditions include anorectal malformations, bilateral Talipes Equinovarius, and acyanotic congenital heart disease, which involved complete Atrioventricular canal defect, additional secundum, Atrial Septal defect, inoderate sized patent Ductus Arteriosus and severe pulmonary artery hypertension.

"She is currently on oral anti-failure medications, Frusemide and Captopril and requires urgent surgical intervention to correct her heart defect," the doctor said.

Narrating their ordeal to The Guardian last week, the couple said few weeks after Godstime birth at Living Spring Hospital Ejigbo, Lagos, it was discovered that she had developmental problems and they were referred to LASUTH for further medical attention.

"First, we were sent to a Cardiologist, after spending three months, we were sent to the Orthopedics, then to the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) section for analysis.

During these examinations, it was discovered that she had a vast range of developmental challenges, ranging from a multiple congenital anomalies.


According to the father, the baby was also on POP for months before her legs could be stretched. "As petty traders, we have spent all our savings and we need help from Nigerians," Dim pleaded.

Last year, a Lagos based foundation, Yeloto African Children's Foundation, also raised a cheque of N106, 500 for Godstime's surgeries and other indigent pediatric patients for the correction of the anorectal malformation before the hole in the heart was discovered.

The money was for Ostomy, a surgical procedure used to create an opening for urine and feaces to be released from the body. This he said could not be done until the corrective surgery for the heart defect in India, whose cost doctors said was about $10,000, has been done.

"We are calling on Nigerians to please come to our aids to save our bundle of joy," he pleaded Any assistance for baby God'stime can be made to Dim Grace Eberechukwu. Access Bank Account Number: 0027694693 or reach the telephone numbers: 08064805684 and 08061191516.

Comments

Post a Comment

Comments best made in desktop format...

Popular posts from this blog

Enjoy the use of Condom this Valentine. Thailand tells citizens

By
Valentine is fast approaching and the Government of Thailand have decided to launch a campaign to  help its citizens that are too shy to buy condoms. They will therefore distribute condoms in large quantities to the citizens in a campaign tagged "Condoms for Confidence". According to Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong of the Ministry of Public Health, ‎" ‎This valentine, there is a high  tendency of people, most especially youths getting involved in unprotected sex". "Teenagers, especially, do not have to be embarrassed about buying condoms. The ‎s ociety also have to accept that teenage girls buy condoms, which is better than more teenage girls getting pregnant.  We have to persuade Thais to accept condoms as a hygiene item in everyday life to protect against pregnancy and AIDS".
Post a Comment
Read more

Mechanic kills friend for urinating near his shop

By
Tragedy struck the park of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners in the Berger, Mile 2 area of Lagos as a a mechanic, identified only as Oshare, reportedly stabbed his friend to death and injured several others. Rasta, Oshare's friend allegedly urinated beside a stationary truck. Oshare, reportedly challenged the deceased for messing up the spot, said to be a few steps from his shop. As Rasta tried to calm him, he reportedly slapped him, which led to a fight. The mechanic, who got so angry grabbed two bottles and stabbed the friend in the neck. He was also said to have injured some people who attempted to caution him. Rasta reportedly bled from his injuries and he was rushed to a hospital for treatment. He, however, died before he could get help. An eyewitness said "Both of them are mechanics and friends. He confronted Rasta for urinating near his shop and it led to a fight. Oshare rushed to my shop with two bottles in his hands, asking me to give him a knife....
Post a Comment
Read more

Cell-Associated HIV Transmission Contributes To HIV Epidemic

By
Dr. Deborah Anderson from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and her colleagues are challenging dogma about the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Most research has focused on infection by free viral particles, while this group proposes that HIV is also transmitted by infected cells. While inside cells, HIV is protected from antibodies and other antiviral factors, and cell-to-cell virus transmission occurs very efficiently through intercellular synapses. The Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID) has devoted their December supplement to this important and understudied topic. The 10 articles, four from researchers at BUSM, present the case for cell-associated HIV transmission as an important element contributing to the HIV epidemic. Anderson chides fellow researchers for not using cell-associated HIV in their transmission models: "The failure of several recent vaccine and microbicide clinical trials to prevent HIV transmission may be due in p...
1 comment
Read more