In the early hours of Monday, April 17, 2017, at the Vea community in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region, as the cocks crowed signalling the break of dawn, Rosemary Aniah would have woken up from her mat made of straws to begin her daily chores, as she had done for years unend. On this day, however, she was in pain; the pain associated with the pangs of labour.
Her Mother-in-Law, living in the same compound, virtually had no sleep. She constantly checked up on Madam Aniah to make sure she was fine. Before the break of dawn, when she once again checked up on her daughter-in-law, she saw clearly, the signs that ‘the baby was coming.’
She had to quickly call for more hands to rush Madam Ania to the nearest hospital, the Gowrie Health Centre, after a referral from the Vea Clinic.
The girl who was born, Philomena Ania Ayokamah, would later be hit with the Hirschsprung Disease. Philomena Aniah Ayokamah had to receive a Rectal Biopsy to correct the situation.
Hirschsprung Disease is a condition of the large intestine that causes difficulty in passing stool and this may be a result of missing nerve cells in the muscles of part or all large intestine.
After some days at Gowrie Health Centre, she was discharged and went home with little Philomena Aniah Ayokamah, but six months later, Madam Rosemary Aniah realised that her daughter could not pass out waste and her stomach kept bulging.
“Her Stomach was as shiny and reflective as the mirror, with crying being her everyday routine. She also grew very lean,” she recounted to A1 News.
Adding that, “she could not breastfeed and kept on crying every day and I was so worried so we sent her to the hospital and was told her anal area was blocked and the Doctors told me that I gave her water but I never gave her water since childhood until when she was 6 months”.
At the time of the visit of the News Team from A1 Radio, Philomena, while active and playing around the house, there is the occasional show of pain. She is careful not to bump her stomach into anything in her home. She has to be constantly cleaned by her mother to avoid the smell that could arise due to the condition.
According Madam Rosemary Aniah, when she was diagnosed with Hirschsprung disease they had to appeal for support. Afrikids, a Non-Government Organisation based in Bolgatanga, went to her aid, helping little Philomena Aniah Ayokamah undergo her first surgery.
She explained that the Doctors told her that, Philomena’s anal area needed to be operated on. This meant that in the interim, Philomena Aniah Ayokamah has to pass stool through an opening made on the left lower part of her tummy.
After the first surgery and many other medical procedures at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, Philomena Ania Ayokamah is expected to undergo one final corrective surgery that will enable her to pass faeces through her anus.
The family, while financially drained, has been able to raise GHC 1,800 out of the GHC 2,000 needed for the final corrective surgery. The challenge however is that after the surgery, the family has no money to acquire drugs that may be needed. The family also is worried about transportation and other related costs that will come during the recuperation of Philomena Ania Ayokamah.
“I have spent everything on my Daughter because I know that when she is alive and strong we will be able to work and recover but as it stands now my savings have all gone into her treatment and cannot even understand this kind of sickness, it’s very mysterious to me because it is beyond comprehension” she cried as she narrated the pain she went through and still going through.
Madam Aniah is a weaver, whose only income comes from how many cloths she is able to weave.
According to the family, all financial means have been exhausted and they are therefore appealing to the public to go to their aid so that Little Philomena can undergo her final surgery.
Well-meaning individuals and organisations who are willing to support Philomena in her quest to get her final corrective surgery can visit the Front Desk or contact Management of A1 Radio on 0246619090.
A1radioonline.com|101.1 MHz|Kennedy Zongbil and Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith |Bolgatanga|Ghana
