"On the night of 28th of February
2016 at about 9pm, my wife told me
our daughter was running temperature
and we decided to watch her through
the night and sponged her body
intermittently till the next morning. It
was rather strange because only few
hours earlier our daughter Lolia was
the heartbeat of the house and
initiator of various plays with her
cousins who came visiting.
Early the next morning we prepped for
work and creche as was our tradition
the past 7months. Loli as fondly
called by all had her cereal and we
made a dash for the hospital.We got
there just before 7am through the
portharcourt traffic on the 29th of
February , 2016.
We had to wait for the staff to do
their devotion and morning rituals
before we were attended to. At about
8.30am a doctor in the consulting
room examined her and said her
tonsils were clear and her blood
should be taken for test. The blood
work came back after about 30mins
Loli had MALARIA+.
The Doctor advised she should be
admitted since she looked weak for
faster recovery. And so our watch
began!!!
First 2 days were very worrisome as
she threw up every 3hours especially
after a meal or medication. On the
Third day a man who says he is a
Pediatrics specialist saw her in the
evening and after few observations
concluded Loli had MENINGITIS and
ordered a change of drugs and
treatment plan. Loli had become mute
and slept long hours at this time for
the next few days with a stiff neck
that couldn't be moved voluntarily.
Under strong protest and demand for
referral from my wife and I, the same
Dr. was called in from church to
review her because no other Dr had
seen her. Only nurses came to
administer intravenous drugs. We got
all assurances from the Dr. and
resident Drs. that she was in perfect
hands and the treatment for
meningitis takes a long time.
Long story short, we were there
another 1week. Another Dr. read her
case note and ordered a change of
drugs. Lolia was placed on the new
drugs and became worse very rapidly.
Our little girl was no more. She got
excess medications her system could
barely cope. All of this Sadly
happened without investigation by the
Drs.
We requested for her case note and
medical report from the hospital
management for onward dispatch to
the American Embassy as part of the
Embassy’s requirements to process
her death certificate and other
necessities. The hospital blew our
minds to Jupiter and back.
The report was falsified and yours
truly, my wife and I were alleged
culprits in her death. They claimed “…
against medical advise parents
discontinued intra nasal oxygen from
child”. They put down a number of
tests they never did and claimed they
did it all.
On different occasions, I was chased
out of the hospital by the Dean of
Doctors in that facility because I was
demanding for her Case Note for
independent review. He repeatedly said
to me “Go and do your worst”.
#JusticeforLoli is a campaign to
#SayNotoMedicalNegligence and
seeks to get closure for my family as
well as several other families who
have lost a loved one and can’t do
anything about it just because the
Drs. are untouchable, incompetent and
unaccountable to the people they
serve/treat or manage. The mere fact
that people die avoidably in the hands
of erring Drs. without appropriate
investigation and sanctions is why
medical practice is a sham in this
clime.
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