The day sickle cell law was passed by the Anambra state House of Assembly has been described as another day of mourning by members of the Association of People Living with Sickle Cell Disorder, the organisation that initiated and drove the idea.

The day the law passed was the same day that one of their own, a 15 year-old Chidozie Nwankwo, who had been battling with a stroke that kept him bedridden for some months, died.

Nwankwo, from Ufuma, Orumba North LGA, and the only son of his widowed mum, was earlier admitted in a private hospital (name withheld).

President of the association, Aisha Edward, said when the association learnt that he was not getting better, it suggested he should be transferred to a teaching hospital. The organisation, on a fateful morning, sent money for taking care of him, only for the boy to die in the evening.

 “He was admitted in a private hospital on Monday 29/4/19; and during the passage of the Sickle Cell Law the following day, I was called to send them money for blood which I transferred electronically to the mother, Mrs Elizabeth Nwankwo.  Chidozie finally died in the evening of Tuesday, 30/4/19 after blood transfusion,” she said.

Edward, therefore, pleaded on the teaching hospital to consider the pathetic conditions surrounding the death of the boy, cancel the debt he had incurred and release his corpse.

“The corpse is still in the hospital mortuary for non-payment of 73, 000. I am told that the Oxygen bill alone is 59,000

“Please, I am pleading with the management of NAUTH to have mercy and kindly reduce the bill for the widowed, who is also the mother of my deceased member.

She also pleaded with the general public to donate towards raising fund to offset the hospital bill on the official account details bellow:

Account name: Association of people living with sickle cell disorder.

Bank name: First City Monument Bank (FCMB)

Account number: 3373524019.

Source: http://www.factreporters.com/2019/05/how-stroke-killed-sickler-day-sickle.html

cc: lalasticlala

Cancel the bill?! Are people really serious?! Without money, how such hospital can function to take care of OTHER people who can afford its services ( if bills are not paid to pay for meds and necessary equipments?!