By Adetutu Sobowale
A 17-year-old Daniel Akanni is appealing for financial assistance worth N2m to undergo the amputation of his left leg and be fitted with an artificial limb.
Akanni was born with a leg deformity.
He underwent corrective surgery at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, at 18 months old, which enabled him to walk, though he was left with a limp because the corrected leg was shorter than the other.
Akanni, who hopes to study Petroleum Engineering, said he would be grateful for the chance to walk again.
He said, “I am pleading with Nigerians to help me walk again. My parents have expended all they had.
“Please help me. I have faith that the surgery will be successful. All I need is your financial help and God will bless you all as you do so.”
Speaking with PUNCH Online on Thursday, his mother, Oluwatoyin, explained that the family had sought various medical treatments over the years in an effort to help him walk properly.
She stated, “He was born with the deformity of the left leg. When he was one and half years, we took him to Igbobi and they told us he would undergo for surgery.
“The surgery was done and it was successful. So he was able to walk then but the leg was shorter than the other. So, that made him limp and he was bending towards one side.”
She said doctors later recommended a second surgery, but the family could not afford it due to financial constraints.
She lamented that subsequent efforts to correct his gait ultimately left him worse off, as his leg became twisted and shorter after another procedure.
She recalled that in 2020, the Lagos State Government ran a free surgery programme known as “Hello Lagos” in Ikeja, which the family hoped would offer a solution.
Oluwatoyin said, “We couldn’t afford the second surgery which would make him walk perfectly. So, in 2020, we heard that the Lagos State Government was organising a programme, ‘Hello Lagos’, a free surgery for children with K-leg. So, we applied and went for the surgery to correct the leg.
“It was done by some doctors at Gbagada. Despite the surgery, his condition worsened and the leg twisted and now he can’t walk again.
“We went back to the doctors and they applied POP but nothing changed. We went back again and they told us they don’t have the instrument to correct it and we were left to our fate.
“So, people then advised us to take him back to Igbobi. We did but when the doctors saw his leg, they told us there is no solution than to amputate the leg from the knee and get him an artificial limb.”
She told PUNCH Online that the total cost for the surgery and artificial limb had been put at N2m, but said the family had exhausted its resources and could no longer afford the procedure.
She lamented, “We are told to get N2m ready but we can’t afford that. Surgery is N710,000 with the artificial limb, we need N2m according to the doctors. We have nothing. We need help. We want Nigerians to help us so our son can walk again.”
To help Akanni, donations can be made to:
Bank Name: FCMB
Account number: 9378042011
Account name: Toyin Felicia Adesoye
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