CHUKWUNETA OBY FROM PUNCH
I met the young girl and her widowed mother at a diagnostic center in town.
I was referred to the center for some tests due to the growth in my armpit.
I was already done and set to leave the center when my spirit directed me to take a second look at the young girl.
When I did, I beheld an image that may not leave my mind in this life time.
Her left eye had bulged out and was severely sore.
I asked what happened to her and the mum said it started as a minor eye irritation of sorts and when the problem became unbearable, they took her to a spiritual healing centre because she had no money for hospital run.
She had just lost her husband (to a chronic disease) and had five children and no job.
I guess they eventually found some money to make it to the diagnostic centre.
They came from a very remote village!
I collected their contact and account details and promised to keep in touch…although, I had no idea how much I could do for them.
What I did later that day was to post the pictures that I took of the girl and her mother on social media and it generated reactions from friends who reached out to the family via the account number provided.
That same post would later attract the attention of another friend who works with a telecommunication company and it was him that facilitated the major intervention the family received…on the girl’s health.
The girl was promptly moved to a Teaching Hospital and all her medical bills were paid.
The man even went as far as ensuring the girl lacked no provisions.
This bit, he sponsored from his pocket…through me!
In less than two months, the girl’s health improved remarkably and (although, she lost the use of the affected eye), it had shrunk to a normal size and there were no traces of the soreness anymore.
As Christmas approached, the hospital decided to discharge them for the holidays while the mum was instructed by the doctors to bring her back in a couple of weeks.
The woman never did, despite the N200,000 that the telecommunication company paid into her account, for further medical attention on the girl.
Sadly, the young girl did not survive a relapse.
