A plea for financial assistance has been made by Susan Ubangha, who shared her distressing experience on her social media platform.
She recounted how her husband diverted funds intended for her caesarian section surgery to purchase a new phone and a dog, leaving her and their newborn baby girl in dire circumstances at the hospital.
Ubangha, currently hospitalized at Alimosho Local Government Area General Hospital Igando, Lagos, described the deterioration of her health during her pregnancy’s 35th week.
Initially dismissing her symptoms as typical late-pregnancy discomforts, she later found herself struggling to breathe and was admitted to the hospital, where doctors recommended a caesarian section due to risks to both her and the unborn child.
Despite medical advice, her husband refused to consent to the surgery, citing financial constraints. After a brief improvement in her condition with oxygen therapy, he insisted on discharging her against medical advice.
She wrote, “Thinking it was one of those symptoms of late pregnancy, I didn’t take it seriously until the 14th of April when I could barely breathe, I couldn’t lift my head up.
“I was rushed to a nearby clinic, they couldn’t handle me, so I was taken to my hospital where I was admitted and placed on oxygen. The doctors told my husband we should opt for CS, as I and my unborn child were at risk..my husband said no, that I’d definitely deliver naturally.
“He insisted he had no money for CS, they should work on stabilising my breathing…so for three days. I was on oxygen and feeling better, seeing that I was responding to treatment, my husband went around and insisted I should be discharged against doctors’ advice.
“It almost became an issue. I was too weak to argue with him. he insisted on discharge so I was discharged early the next morning.
Back home, her health rapidly declined, and she was eventually rushed back to the hospital, where she remained admitted.
Facing a critical situation, Ubangha reached out for help on social media, where a compassionate individual offered financial assistance. However, her husband misappropriated the funds, diverting them to personal purchases instead of her urgent medical needs.
She wrote, “He told me to drink so that it would make my baby turn its head for natural delivery. The other agbo could make my cervix slippery. I was in so much pain that I drank only for the pain to intensify.
“I struggled so much till about 1 am. When I couldn’t take it anymore I cried out, my neighbours came running and I was again rushed to the hospital, admitted and placed on oxygen while my doctors determined what to do, my husband insisted he had no money for CS. All these while I was spending my life’s savings on medications, this and that tests.
“This dragged on until the morning of 29th April. I was broke, my baby wasn’t moving, my breathing wasn’t good, I couldn’t push and my baby’s position was breached. I cried out on Facebook where a kind Samaritan sent me N500k to pay for CS and whatever else I might need afterwards.
“I immediately sent the sum of N180k and an additional N60k so he could pay for the surgery and whatever we might need. He took the money and spent it instead on a phone and bought a dog while I was battling with life, thinking he was paying.
“We waited from 10 am when I gave him the money until about 2 pm; doctors were shouting, time was running out. I had to call his sister, count another N180,000 and give her, she’s the one who paid. He came at 6 pm when I was being wheeled into the theatre, I could hear both of them fighting, the sister threatening to arrest him.”
With her husband having abandoned them, Ubangha and her newborn daughter, along with her elderly mother, are stranded at the hospital. They have exhausted their resources on medical expenses and are in urgent need of financial support to cover ongoing treatment costs and facilitate their discharge.
Ubangha appealed for approximately N500k to assist with medical expenses and discharge arrangements, highlighting the daily hospital fees of N5,000 contributing to their financial strain. (Guardian)
