The agony of a 6 -year-old cancer patient

There were shouts of joy and jubilation on August 16, 2005, when Shuaibu Kingsley was born into the family of one Naomi Shuaibu, but the plight of the family started when Kingsley was three months old. Sunday Trust gathered that at three months old, Kingsley was diagnosed with cancer which affected one of his eyes, […]

There were shouts of joy and jubilation on August 16, 2005, when Shuaibu Kingsley was born into the family of one Naomi Shuaibu, but the plight of the family started when Kingsley was three months old. Sunday Trust gathered that at three months old, Kingsley was diagnosed with cancer which affected one of his eyes, leg and hand and he has undergone surgeries to the point of losing his left eye.

Naomi, Kingsley’s mother, narrating her ordeal, said that the problem started at three months when the first symptom was noticed on Kingsley’s eyes. “It was a kind of reflection on the eyeball and he was taken to a General Hospital in Benue state. From there, we were referred to the National Eye Centre, Kaduna,” she explained.

She further narrated that she frequented the eye centre for almost three years before the first operation was done on August 24, 2008 and that in the process, his left eye was removed. According to her, three months after the eye operation, another spot was discovered close to the ear and that she took him back to the hospital because as at that time, they were placed on a weekly visit to the eye centre for check ups.

Kingsley’s mother told Sunday Trust that at the Eye centre, he was checked and given drugs. “Each time he is on the drugs, the swell will go down but after the drug, the swell will come back bigger than before. We kept visiting the hospital and they kept giving him medication. Later, we were referred from the Eye centre to the Ear Care Centre in Kaduna but were referred back to the Eye centre demanding them to refer us to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Shika, in Zaria,” Naomi stated.

Still narrating her ordeal, she said that in June, 2010, they were referred to ABUTH and there, another treatment started. According to her, the first and second courses (treatment) kept her and the son in the hospital for three months, two weeks and that after, those courses, the swollen part reduced but they still visited the hospital at three weeks intervals for other courses.

She told our correspondent that presently, her son had undergone seven courses in ABUTH stating that the doctor who is treating him said he is to undergo 20 courses.

“For each course, the main drugs alone cost N58,000. He takes one bag of blood in each course, admission fee for the weekly visit is N2,555 but during the first three months in the hospital, the admission fee was N27,240. I spent about N170,000 for the first two courses. We ought to have gone back to the hospital for the next course but due to lack of finance, we cannot,” she lamented.

Our correspondent gathered from the medical report signed by Dr. B.O Abegunde for the Consultant at the Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, ABUTH and made available to Sunday Trust that Shuaibu Kingsley is being managed for histologically proven metastatic retinoblastoma.

“He has had five courses of intravenous cyclophosphamide, etoposide and carboplatin and is to have a total of twenty courses, following completion of his courses of chemotherapy, he will be followed up for five years at the Haemato-oncology clinic,” the report stated.

Speaking on how she has been sourcing funds to finance the treatment, she disclosed that she had solely relied on her family, her church members and some concerned individuals as well as friends. She added that through one of her friends, she got assistance from Nigerian Village Square, which supported her with the sum of N255,000 which she said she used for the third, fourth and fifth courses.

When asked about what she does for a living, she said that she is a hair dresser and had lost all her customers to her son’s sickness, saying that she hardly opens the shop because she spends most of her time either in the hospital or at home taking care of the boy. She lamented that her son’s sickness has not only affected her personal live but her source of livelihood.

When asked about the father of Kingsley, she said his name is Uche Okoli. “I got pregnant for him before our introduction. Shortly after that, I started having problem with his family members and all attempts to make our marriage work failed. So, he eventually left me to Aba in Abia state at the nineth month of my pregnancy. In fact, he did not see the boy when I gave birth to him; though he is aware of the boy’s condition but he is not doing anything about it,”

“I took Kingsley to his grandfather in Benue before I came to Kaduna so that he could see his condition. He promised to talk to his son but I didn’t still hear anything from him. Kingsley’s father is very much aware of his condition because he at times calls me on phone but he has never shown concern for the boy,” Naomi lamented.

She appealed to the public and government to assist continue with the remaining treatment so that Kingsley can get well and be associated with other children in the society, noting that the doctor asked them not to allow long intervals between the courses.

“I didn’t believe the doctor until I went back with him to Benue for about a month without the treatment. Then I started discovering another swollen portion on his hand and leg. Then we rushed him to the hospital again. I want Nigerians to please help me so that my son can complete the twenty courses because the doctor said that even after the completion of the courses, Kingsley will be their patient for five years for constant observation until he is finally alright” she explained.

Sunday Trust gathered that Naomi resides at Galadima street, Trikania in Kaduna state but lost everything she had to the recent post election crisis in Kaduna. “I was not able to come out with anything except the cloth I was wearing. Now I do not even know where and how to start life again because presently I am squatting with somebody, which is not convenient considering my son’s condition,” Naomi further lamented.