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| Staff of GIPLC, Okiki's parents, Dr. Ben Carson and Nuhu Kwajafa |
On May 13,
2010, a baby girl; Okiki(Jesu) was born to the Olawuyi’s in Ibadan, Oyo state,
Nigeria, with a rare medical condition subsequently diagnosed as ‘Congenital
Cranial Deficiency’. In other words, she was delivered with at least 50% of her
skull unformed. For the Olawuyi’s, that day marked the beginning of a 3 year
struggle against stigmatization, discrimination and near hopelessness. Worthy of note is the fact that of the
7billion people on earth, Okiki is the only human alive with this condition, on
this scale.
After
rejections from several hospitals around the world, renowned neurosurgeon at
the Johns Hopkins Medical International hospital, Baltimore, Maryland; Dr. Ben Carson
agreed to lead a team of surgeons in performing a skull reconstruction surgery
on 3 year old Okiki. After a review of her case history, the tentative cost of
Okiki’s surgery was put at US$234,000 (Two hundred and thirty four thousand
United States dollars). On receiving this estimate, GIPLC reached out to her
local network of donors and phenomenally raised this sum of money in
approximately 72hours.
3 year old
Okiki and her parents under the stewardship of Coordinator and Program Director
of GIPLC journeyed to the US on May 4th 2013 to undergo her skull
reconstruction surgery which was scheduled for the 22nd of May 2013
at the Johns Hopkins Medical International. However, complications have
occurred following her over 14 hour’s initial surgery, as a result of
inconsistencies in her medical history, in addition to the fact that it was a
maiden attempt in paediatric neurosurgery. This has led to a further
accumulation of medical bills totalling over US$500,000 (Five hundred thousand United
States dollars), a figure that increases with each passing day Okiki spends at
Johns Hopkins.
Prior to the
complications which have arisen, what made a determination of the full cost of
Okiki’s surgery difficult is that in modern times, it is an extremely rare (perhaps
singular) medical condition with no precedence to draw indicators from. This
latter fact also means that it is equally difficult to tell what other medical
complications may arise; just like the fluids that were retained in her cranial
cavity has posed an unforeseen challenge and may have led to a fatal infection.
As Okiki may
not be released from hospital until all outstanding bills have been paid on one
hand, and as we and her parents are desirous of her condition being fully
remedied before she does leave the hospital on the other, we would like to
appeal to the global public to support our cause in ensuring that Okiki gets a
full chance at life.
All donations go
directly to Johns Hopkins Medical International (Details available on request).
You may find attached a copy of the bill, for your perusal & action,
please.
Meanwhile this Sunday, 30th June iblog will be hosting GIPLC at a fundraiser and social media awareness campaign
For more info call GIPLC 08089693240,
08163183797, 07063252573. www.giplc
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