Husband abandons wife and baby over hospital bill

By Ene Osang
Abuja

It was a pitiable sight at the maternity ward of the National Hospital Abuja seeing women abandoned by their husbands for not being able to foot their bills.
Ruth Charles Okoye, a new mum of a 4weeks old baby boy said she has been in the hospital for over a month due to the bills she has accrued.
She said her husband has been out looking for money but doesn’t come to see her and their baby, neither does he call to inquire how they are doing.

‘’It has been my mum taking care of me. My husband said he was going to look for money but until now he has not come back neither has he called.
‘’Right now my bill is about N350.000 and I don’t have any hope of paying, I’m only praying that God sends a helper.
‘’My mother-inlaw and other members of my husbands family are here but not has come to visit me, I even called my mother-inlaw and she said she is busy selling her market,’’ she said.
On whether she was legally married considering the kind of treatment, she said they are legally married.
‘’I am from Kaduna state but my husband is Igbo from Delta state. We didn’t have any problem before now, infact my case was emergency and I didn’t even know what happened until i found myself in this hospital.

‘’I was told that I started vomitting and was rushed to the hospital, I was unconscious my mum said my Blood Pressure (BP) was very high and the baby was jumping in my womb.
‘’I was taken to about four hospitals before I was finally brought here and to be honest the hospital and the nurses have been good to me but they have also said I am occupying bed space because i shouldn’t be there anymore but I don’t have any money to pay the bills,’’ she lamented.
Similarly, Blessing Clement God’spower, a 22 year old from Akwa Ibom state is also abandoned in the hospital with her baby.
God’spower is a Senior Secondary 2 school drop-out from the government secondary school in Bwari area council in Abuja.
An orphan, she is the first child and has four siblings to cater for, this, she said made her drop out of school to marry her husband who is a mere breadseller at the law school gate in Bwari.
‘’I am 22 my mum and dad left me with five other siblings to cater for so i had to get married because help was not coming from anywhere but see where the marriage has landed me. I give thanks to God all the same,’’ she cried.
‘’I have spent one month here at the National Hospital and this is the 8th hospital I have been to since the pregnancy and this resulted to pre-enclampsia.
‘’My pregnancy was managed at the general hospital but I was later referred to Asokoro then to Wuse, Gwarinpa and finally to the National Hospital and all these period i was unconscious I almost died if not for God’s grace.
‘’When I came to the National Hospital at six months they brought out my baby who still survived but right now his health is not improving due to the circumstances surrounding his birth,’’ she said.
‘’I don’t work, no family, my husband sells bread at law school gate in Bwari but right now students are at on attachment and so no sales for my husband. This is frustrating for me, I am depressed and have attempted suicides but who will look after my younger ones if I die,’’ she cried.

The new mum though expressed gratitude that the head of civil service has taken care if her hospital bills, she said she doesn’t know where to go if discharged from hospital because her husband has not called and his number is not going through.
She appealed to government to help her get back to school so she can study and work hard to cater for herself and siblings.

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