One Child With SCD Under Threat of Leg Amputation
Midnight from New Year’s Day to the wee hours of January 2, Pastor Abel Olukayode Adewale, 59 and his wife Beatrice, 50, took turns to comfort and massage the pain-wracked limbs of Ruth, their second surviving daughter with sickle cell anaemia, in their Modakeke, Osun State home.
Such a scenario of sleepless nights, worry and angst is not unusual in the household of the Adewales, a household which once raised five children with sickle cell, with only three surviving.
It was principally the same SCD that – from the frustration of penury – drove the man of the house to spend two years in prison in Lagos, from which he regained his freedom barely one week ago.
Juxtaposing the troubles he had returned home to face in just a few days, Adewale says he wished he were body and soul back behind bars!
‘In prison I had no worries to speak of apart from the lack of freedom and other incidental issues,’ Adewale recalls.
He never expected to get back to a fun-filled home atmosphere knowing the conditions he left the family in before the jail sentence in 2018. The judge, stern Justice Mrs. Owoyele, did not allow the plea of allocutus and had given no option of a fine in the criminal suit brought against the man of God by Wema Bank Plc. In one sentence, the Apostolic Church priest had gone ahead and unwittingly spent money he found in his account thinking it was donations sent him by well-meaning Nigerians to take care of his children with sickle cell. Several newspapers in Nigeria had published his story and account details, soliciting help from the public. The money, about N985000, was actually routed to his account by to a virus in the e-transact platform of Wema Bank.
Home, Sweet Home?
The moment he got back home, his wife quickly off-loaded all the troubles she had faced singlehandedly:
The landlord had been very understanding but has been threatening to evict the family for some months. The family owes close to three years’ rent.
Hope Ireti Adewale, 27 is a NCE holder just admitted to study English/Linguistics at the Obafemi Awolowo University – she continues to have her crises apace, draining the family purse, such as it is.
Ruth Adewale, 21 had sickle cell crises beginning New Years’ Day and ongoing as at press time.
Samuel Adewale, 14 is under threat of amputation as a result of SCD leg ulcers. Foot and leg ulcers are a complication of sickle cell affecting a fair chunk of patients worldwide. Treatment ranges from dressing, surgery and the use of special creams. Amputation is a last resort to preserve life.
‘The world should please come to our aid and save my son from leg amputation,’ the father appeals.
Bank Details:
Account Name: Adewale Abel Olukayode
First Bank of Nigeria ac no: 3045684219
Access Bank ac no: 0694536131
UBA ac no: 1017523560
GTBank ac no: 0015279740