‘Help me to be on my feet again’ – Spinal cord patient appeals to Gombe gov


He has been on sick bed for five years now on account of accident which destroyed his spine and requires two million naira for treatment. AUWAL AHMAD reports on the plight of this father of four who is in a fire situation at the moment.

Muhammad Suleiman, a resident of Barunde community in Gombe state, is appealing to his state governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya and indeed Nigerians, to come to his aid to enable him go for a spinal cord surgery in order to cater for his kids again having been abandoned by his wives in that condition for five years.

How it happened
Suleiman, a former tipper driver who was involved in an accident in Yola in 2014 made the appeal in an interaction he had with Blueprint in Gombe recently.He said the surgery and other expenses would cost close to N2 million, adding that he had no means of raising such huge amount of money having been bedridden for years.
According to him, he wants the surgery done so as to get back on his feet to make a living for himself and his four children who are also abandoned by his wives since he was involved in the accident.
He said, “Life has been tough for me ever since I was involved in accident at Yola in 2014 that made me like this. I have been on the sick bed for four years now and I don’t feel good like this,” he said.
He added that his predicament has caused his mother and other relatives enough pains which they may not tell him but said he is aware of.“My family and relatives may not tell me how they feel but I see it on their faces because body language is very key. I don’t want them to get tired of me before I die or get rescued.
“I want to get well and show appreciation to my mother and other relatives that Allah has given me. May Allah bless all those He has been using to sustain me to this point.”
Suleiman, a devoted father of four said the most painful part of his case is that he can’t perform his fatherly duties like every other fathers, adding that such is the biggest pain in his heart to watch others go out with their children while he remains on the sick bed.
While beckoning on Governor Inuwa and other well-meaning Nigerians, Suleiman said, “If the surgery can be done so that I can take care of my kids the normal and ideal way before I finally leave this world, since my two wives had abandoned me for over five years now, I would be very grateful and thankful all the days of my life, especially to see my children through school and also feed them.
“I don’t want my children to regret because of my situation. What I feel whenever I watch them looking at me can only be understood by God,” he stressed.


Likely causes apart from accident


Damage to the spinal cord can occur in a variety of ways, although the most common cause is due to external trauma, according to medical experts. While not nearly common, non-traumatic injury to the spinal cord is a possibility from causes such as tumors, blood loss, or a condition known as stenosis. Investigation reveals that spinal cord injuries tend to affect more men than women and majority of people who sustain the injury are between the ages of 16 and 30 because of increased likelihood of risky behaviours.
There are four sections of the spinal cord: cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral; each section of the spine protects different groups of nerves that control the body. The types and severity of spinal cord injuries can depend on the section of the spine that is injured.


A complete spinal cord injury causes permanent damage to the area of the spinal cord that is affected. Paraplegia or tetraplegia are results of complete spinal cord injuries and an incomplete spinal cord injury refers to partial damage to the spinal cord. The ability to move and the amount of feeling depends on the area of the spine injured and the severity of the injury. Outcomes are based on a patient’s health and medical history.


Appeals for spinal cord patients
In December 2019 during the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in Kano, the medical director, National Orthopaedic Hospital located in Dala (NOHD), Dr Mohammed Salihu, appealed to non governmental organisations (NGOs), development partners and well-meaning Nigerians to support the rehabilitation of spinal cord patients in the country.
The day is usually celebrated annually on December 3 to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilise support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with such condition.
Salihu said the rehabilitation of people living with disabilities, especially of spinal cord patients, was becoming a challenge for the hospital to manage alone.“When we look at the statistics of spinal cord injuries as a result of accident in the emergency ward, the statistics in this hospital is alarming; we received 4,000 individuals this year.
“We received individuals involve in spinal cord injury annually and they keep coming.
“The thing with spinal cord injury cases is that if they don’t present them to hospital early enough, the injury becomes permanent and irreversible and it can lead to permanent disability.
“So, this group of people needs a lot of support and rehabilitation,’’ the medical director said.


He disclosed that the hospital has built a Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Centre to cater for the group.
According to him, the hospital used to have only eight beds for spinal cord injury patients some years back, adding that the number had increased to 20 beds.The medical director expressed optimism that with the support from well-meaning Nigerians, the hospital would be able to finish and equip its 50-bed capacity building under construction.He noted that managing spinal cord patients required a lot of resources; hence the need to support the patients and provide capacity building for the personnel that would be working in the centre.
“It requires education before you can even talk about treatment; we have taken it seriously and we have a separate provision for it.“We have also trained quite a lot of surgeons and now, the hospital has 15 spine surgeons and we are trying to do a lot so that we get the best for the spinal cord injury patients,’’ he said.
The chairperson of the Spinal Cord Association Gombe chapter, Fatima Sani Yakubu, said everday not less than three new cases are recorded.She added that from January to October 2019, no fewer than 4,000 people were admitted in Dala hospital of which only 221 could afford surgery due to higher cost of treatment.

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