Edmund Burke once said, ‘Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.’ Edmund Burke couldn't be more correct as that little help from two LEADERSHIP staff was what may have saved the life of Joseph Orkuma Gyade one month ago. DANIEL UDECHUKWU in this report captures Joseph’s present health condition and also solicits financial assistance from well- meaning Nigerians to help? give life back to this one Nigerian. ??
LEADERSHIP WEEKEND reported the story of a young man who was rescued by two of its reporters in January. Joseph was in a coma for three days on the street of Jabi in Abuja before being taken to the hospital.
Drifting in and out of consciousness, sometimes oblivious to happenings around him, Joseph Orkuma gyade's life depends on two things: the grace of God and kind assistance from well-meaning Nigerians to come to his aid.?
Having just come out of a coma that lasted nearly 6 weeks, the doctors are yet to ascertain exactly what was wrong with the patient.? Joseph needs to undergo extensive tests-one of them is a CT scan which costs about N80,000.?? He needs your help.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Hospital, Tony Momoh, stated that the young man was lucky because if he had spent one more night on the streets, he wouldn’t have survived.
The CMD added that the hospital so far had spent over N200,000 on drugs and other items he needed, stressing that more tests need to be carried out on him to ascertain the cause of his paralysis.?
“The young man would have died of hunger and paralysis, if the Good Samaritans had not brought him to the hospital at the time they did. For now, the hospital has expended more than N200, 000 on drugs,” the CMD stated.?
He went on to say that Joseph needs a CT scan and X-Ray.
Also, a medical personnel and? member of the surgical team of the hospital, Dr Efosa Obamwomi, told LEADERSHIP WEEKEND that the CT scan is very much needed to establish what is wrong with him.
“You can see that his condition is getting better. But we need more fund to ascertain where he is injured. Now we cannot completely say if he is paralyzed or not. He is really in a critical condition,” Dr Efosa said.
When asked to give the estimate of the scan he said, “It could amount to 80,000 naira or more.”
Meanwhile, all efforts to trace any member of his family had proved abortive.
We are using this medium to call on well-meaning Nigerians to come to Joseph's aid so that he can completely get his life back.
Also, we want to appeal that anyone with useful information on how to locate his reltions to please contact the management of the hospital or visit our corporate headquarters in Abuja.