So Sad! Dad Abandons his 3 Year Old Burn Victim Daughter in Calabar Hospital
A father, only identified as Alex, has allegedly abandoned his 3-year-old daughter, Ozillia Alex-Adjissi, at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) in Calabar, Cross River State.
Ozillia was admitted at the hospital two months ago as a result of the injuries she suffered from kerosene explosion. Sadly, Ozillia’s mother and brother, who were also affected by the explosion reportedly died of severe burns.
The case was one of several explosions reported earlier this year, when adulterated kerosene flooded Calabar.
According to The Nation, the little girl’s condition moved a good Samaritan, Theresa Etido-Umoren, who had gone to visit her relative in the Intensive Care Unit of the UCTH. She then decided to make her case public thereafter.
Interestingly, her outcry attracted the attention of members of the Calabar-Municipal branch of the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), who intervened with a donation of N20, 000 and a follow up donation of another N50,000 yesterday.
”I noticed her when I went to the ICU to visit my cousin who later died. I noticed this little girl, Ozillia, and I made inquiries about her. In the course of my inquiries I found out that nobody was caring for her.
The hospital staff had taken her like their project. I had to go and see the head of Anaesthesia department and told her what I could do and they gave the go-ahead. The staff at the Anaesthesia department had taken up the responsibility of caring for her when they discovered that her father had stopped coming to see her.
The child had been in the hospital for about two months without the father. The child’s mother and brother had died in the fire incident. So, I had to reach out to people and the first donation came from Seadogs.
From what I understand, the father is from Benin Republic and the mother was from Akwa Ibom State but they were not legally married before this incident. In addition to the grief of losing his family, he was made to marry the corpse of the mother before the burial.”
The Head of Department of Anaesthesia, Stella Eguma, who manages the ICU, said the girl had just undergone her first major surgery.
”We have been taking care of her for some time now, while public spirited human beings like you have just stepped in now. She just had the first surgery. She will need a lot of grafting because the skin was not enough. It is going to be a long recovery process and we are happy that she is responding.”
Photo credit: The Nation
Awwwww it’s a pity. I pray she recovers fully to lead a normal life.
Bless you