Suffering Children
(I wrote this piece about 2 years ago when I was doing a rotation in Paediatrics...the pain the children face is REAL...like Michael Jackson said, "...let's make the world a better place..." and I would add, "...especially for the children")
He was supposed to be twelve but he looked more like six. He was obviously tired of life because of all the suffering. His eyes were a deep yellow and he wore a gross sigh that showed despair. He was in a lot of pain and had to sleep in a sitting position every night because if he lay down, his lungs will fill with fluid and threaten his very breath. He suffers from sickle cell anaemia and today he was having a clinical picture of acute kidney failure.
Suffering Children have done nothing to deserve all the pain they go through. It saddens my heart whenever I see a child with Paediatric HIV - suffering for a virus he knew nothing about, practically did nothing wrong to get and did not deserve. Children with severe malnutrition - brought into the world to literally die of hunger. Children with cancer - many of them not even marking their second birthday but yet doctors declaring that they can't possibly see the next one.
I feel sometimes the parents are to blame. For example, when a man and his wife decide to forgo family planning and start having numerous children for whom they provide little or nothing and these children fall victim to severe malnutition diseases (such as marasmus and kwashiokor, where the ribs stick out and the child is so weak that he can barely eat even when food is brought to him). Such parents are not being just and should not be allowed to allow innocents to suffer. Another example is when two couples in love who are carriers of the recessive sickle-cell gene forgo the reality of sickle cell, tie the nuptial knot and end up in misery two years later when they have a child with the sickle cell disease who has to endure so much pain and suffering for much of his usually short life span. I therefore plead with would-be-parents to please consider what it takes to bring up a child and make up their minds to give these ones the best and if they are not able to, please remain single and don't jeopardise another's future and bring someone into sorrows and anguish.
However it must be said that sometimes the parents and the child are not at fault and an example is the case of a six month old infant who has bilateral eye cancer and in the best case scenario is blind for life as both eyes must be removed by surgery and in the worst case scenario dies before the age of five after a protracted battle with the cancer. That is why a campaign must begin for childhood cancer to be treated for free in our hospitals. Both the government and the private sector must join hands to make this possible. I have seen children die of cancer because they couldn't buy the next course of cytotoxics that cost N20,000 ($150) that may have given them a chance - this is unjust and unfair. A bank recently gave away N50 million ($350,000) as prize money in a promotion and GSM companies give out millions in their numerous extravaganzas but a fraction of that sum will make a difference in the life of thousands of little children.
Make a difference today.
"...AND OF SOME HAVE COMPASSION, MAKING A DIFFERENCE" Jude vs 24
1 comment:
Thanks for bringing to light something so important. I have always thought that in order to palpate the suffering and poverty in Nigeria, one has to do Paediatric and O/G postings in hospitals that provide for the poorer population. I had some eye-opening experiences myself. There is real suffering around us. This is why I think that it is a terrible act of injustice to embezzle public funds. For every kobo embezzled, someone's suffering is increased.
I respect many people who have decided to face the suffering of others and help them overcome it. They have actually first overcome an inner monster called convenience/self-love before learning to help others overcome their sufferings, cos in reality it is a very tasking venture. It thus makes sense that many would rather invest in things that would win them applauses or more money. Someone once said that the measure of the level of civilisation of any nation is based on how it treats its weakest members. By this standard, we are far from being termed 'civilised.'
About responsible parenthood, it is necessary a couple should plan their family because of poverty. Mother Teresa who worked with the poorest of the poor for about 50 years actually taught many women the natural means of planning their families. But I wish to register a strong disagreement with the way the Chinese govt handled the matter. I think they badly over-stepped their bounds. The state has no rights to enforce family planning; it is a duty within the bounds of the moral conscience of the family-husband and wife. They practically 'forced' abortion and contraception on their women, violating their right to make decisions based on conscience. They can be enlightened but not forced. What of those that could afford to have more kids?
Anyway, I think we should encourage those already making a difference and not be afraid to make a difference ourselves even though it may require fighting the monster within.
Post a Comment