By Enyim Enyim
ONITSHA—A mother of seven, Mrs
Uzoamaka Onu, 39, has been abandoned by her husband at the New Mayor Hospital
and Fertility Centre, Nkpor, Anambra State, over N520,000 hospital bill. File
Photo: Breast examination File Photo: Breast examination The woman, Vanguard
gathered, had stayed in the hospital for four months because of the non-
payment of the bill. Uzoamaka, a food vendor, who hails from Okpoto community,
Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, told Vanguard that the husband
had absconded and abandoned her to her fate. According to her, “my husband
stopped visiting the hospital after I successfully underwent a surgery on my
right breast and all attempts to reach him have proved abortive.” However,
Uzomaka said she did not blame her husband for absconding, because he had
suffered a lot since 2013 when signs of cancer started manifesting. She said:
“My husband sells rat poison, and cannot afford the money to pay the balance. I
think that was why he ran away. I am appealing to good spirited Nigerians to
come to my aid and help me to get back home. “My problem started in 2013 when I
started experiencing excruciating pain in my body, specifically in my lungs. I
started visiting patent medicine stores for solution, but unfortunately that
compounded my problems. “It was on the advice of some friends and family
members that I decided to visit General Hospital, Abakaliki, where I was
diagnosed of breast cancer.” The surgery Uzoamaka said that she had visited the
University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Enugu, and Lagos State
University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, for solutions. According to her, she then
went to the New Mayor Hospital and Fertility Centre, where she had a successful
surgery, leading to outright removal of her right breast. She said N750,000 was
the total cost of the surgery and that her family paid N230,000. The Medical
Director of the hospital, Dr. Ben Ossai, confirmed the incident, describing
Uzoamaka’s case as pathetic. He said that the woman’s right breast was in a
deteriorating state, and was emitting offensive odour due to the devastation
the ailment had caused. “We decided to perform a surgery on her to remove the
affected breast,” he said. Ossai said Uzoamaka underwent a successful surgery
and had long been discharged, pending when her family upsets the balance of her
medical bill. “But for four months now, her husband has not visited, and we
suspected he has absconded,” he said.
EmoticonEmoticon