“WHEN I was asked to buy three shawls for the babies, with only N2000 in my pocket, it dawned on me that I would be paying in triples, for many years from now.”
That was the submission of Mr Isa Idowu Ganiyu, a father of triplets, at the Adeoyo Specialist Hospital, Ibadan, whose wife put to bed three boys on the 30th of December, 2015 through caesarean operation.
For Mr Ganiyu, who already has two boys and a girl, the journey started about eight months ago, when his ill wife was pronounced pregnant based on an ultrasonography scan.
Recounting his experience, Mr Ganiyu, whose mother also had four sets of twins, did not make him think that his wife, too, might end up having twins or triplets.
According to him, although they had initial delay of four years before having their first child, “even when the scan said she was carrying triplets, I still found it hard to believe.”
With three children already, the news of triplets worried the couple, and with time, the effect began to take its tow on Mrs Guvat Ganiyu’s health.
Aside the frequent visits to the hospital, twice she fainted and had to be resuscitated. She also was placed on hospital bed rest at the fifth month of pregnancy till the babies were eventually delivered through caesarean operation.
Although he accepted his fate, believing God for help, according to the father of the children, there were many challenges, especially as caring for his wife became a necessity, which resulted in less time for trade.
For Mrs Guvat Ganiyu, her experience carrying the triplets was significantly different from her previous ones.
“I did not know I was pregnant for almost four months because I was still seeing my period. I got to know when I fell ill and tests at Adeoyo Specialist Hospital indicated that I was pregnant,” she stated.
Although it was initially said to be two babies and later three, she said: “maybe I would not have been worried if it was my first pregnancy. If it was when we were newly married and there was money, it would have been easier. But now, thinking of how to care for them in this trying period brings me so much pain.”
The 35-year-old petty trader, whose business had been grounded because she is always weak and unable to do much due to the pregnancy, added that “when the money we had for the caesarean operation was not enough, people, including health workers, came around to assist us to pay.”
However, the birth of the triplets only reminded her of dreams of having many children before she got married.
Watching one of the babies, Mohammed, lying in a baby’s crib, Mrs Ganiyu said he is fed with breast milk as the others named Addulraman and Al-rahim. They are still in the hospital’s special baby care unit because they were born small. They weighed 2,2kg, 1.7kg and 1.8kg respectively.
Surprising, Mrs Ganiyu, had all her previous babies at this hospital. And she was full of praise and thanks to the staffs of the hospital, who she described as very supportive.
“Many times, people talk about their experiences at the hospital, when sick or requiring one form of treatment or the other. They talk about the waiting time; they always forget about the number of patients waiting to be attended to. But, one thing is certain, if you are patient, you will be attended to and you are sure of the quality of service.”
Ganiyu’s triplets still need more support to ensure they attain their potentials in life. Already, wife of Oyo State Governor, Chief Mrs Florence Ajimobi, represented by Mrs Folusho Sali, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs, on a courtesy visit to the hospital made some donations of baby formula to them as well as some other patients in the hospital on 1st January, 2016.
But Mr Ganiyu said more still needed to be done to support these babies through life.
Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Hospital Management Board, Ministry of health, Dr Adebayo Adigun, remarking that cases of multiple deliveries were frequently recorded in many Oyo State health facilities, said this case just further proved that the notion that state hospital facilities were not working were untrue.
“Oyo State government hospital facilities are working. They are doing their best to render healthcare services to our people. These facilities are available to our people and, as such, we have large number of people coming down to benefit from our various facilities,” Adigun stated, just as he assured that health was topmost on the agenda of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, and declared that bed occupancy rate in most government hospitals in urban centres was almost 100 per cent.
Adigun, noting that “the records are there if you want to know,” however, urged erring health workers be reported to ensure the system continues to provide good services to patients.
He also encouraged individuals to patronise the Oyo State health insurance scheme, saying it was aimed at ensuring people also benefit from the health dividends from the government
SOURCE-NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
No comments:
Post a Comment