It appears the condition of four-year-old Omonigho Abraham, who was attacked by two dogs in the Igando area of
Lagos State about a month ago, has worsened in the Lagos State
University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja where he is currently receiving
treatment.
PUNCH Metro learnt
from his father, Odia, that Omonigho’s scalp which was torn off by the
German shepherd dogs during the gruesome attack, had not healed and had
been giving off an offensive odour.
He said this had given the family serious concern.
Odia
told our correspondent on Wednesday that attempts to get the medical
report of his condition had also been frustrated by some medical
officers in the hospital.
He said, “My
boy still complains of pains in different parts of his body. Also, when
they open the bandage on his head, you will see that there is no much
difference. It’s still like the first time the incident happened.
“In fact, for up to two weeks no consultant or doctor attended to him, and his head started smelling.
“We
have been told he may still have to be admitted for six months or up to
one year, for the doctors to do a skin-grafting surgery on his open
skull. They will cut skin from parts of his body, to cover up the
skull.”
He added that he had also
continued to foot the bills of the boy, despite the instruction of the
state government to the hospital management not to collect any money for
his expenses.
Our correspondent
gathered that a non-governmental organisation had to raise money for
Omonigho’s drugs and over N100, 000 had been purportedly spent in buying
drugs, among other expenses.
The
report of a fundraising for Omonigho’s medical expenses was said to have
angered the management of LASUTH who allegedly accused Odia of making
money off his son’s predicament.
The
father of three told our correspondent he was called into a meeting on
Tuesday in which the management of the hospital promised to start
implementing the state government’s pledge to the Abrahams.
He
said, “The Lagos State Government, through its Ministry of Health, has
already played its part by writing a letter to LASUTH that it would foot
all the bills for which we are grateful.
“But
when the letter got to them, they did not implement it. I was still
buying the drugs till yesterday (Tuesday) that I was exhausted and I
cried out that I did not have any money to buy drugs again.
“That
was when the management of the hospital led by the Chief Medical
Director, apologised and promised to start implementing the state
government’s order.
“I have decided to wait for at least a week and see if they will change, like they promised.”
Odia
said the Delta State Government and a few other people were interested
in the medical report which had not been issued to him.
“The
real issue I have now is that they (LASUTH) have not released the
medical report which I asked for since October 16. They (LASUTH) have
been directing me from one person to another and I am getting tired. If I
see the report, I will know what exactly to do about this issue.”
Attempts
to get the reaction of the management of LASUTH proved abortive as its
Public Relations Officer, Dele Johnson, neither picked his call nor
responded to a text message sent to his phone.
Source:Punch Newspaper.
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