A 38-year-old man, Esan Oladotun has lamented over the lose of his two children to the cold hand of death in Benin.
Narrating his ordeal, Esan Oladotun said his travails began with the loss of his unborn child who died in his wife’s womb about two weeks to his delivery, only to be followed by his 13-year-old daughter, Tunmise, a Junior Secondary School 3 pupil of Anointed Academy School. Tunmise died three days after the loss of the pregnancy.
Watch the video of Oladotun lamenting after the incidence below.
Oladotun said Tunmise, who was preparing for her Junior School Certificate Examination (aka Junior WAEC), was the one giving him emotional support when his wife was undergoing surgery to remove the dead baby inside her.
He said: “I have been living with Sandra, my wife, for 18 years. We had three children and she was pregnant with our fourth child. I also have a stepdaughter.
“When the pregnancy was about seven months old, water began coming out of her. We went to see her doctor, and he recommends that she should go for a scan. From the scan, it was discovered that the baby was not in the right position. But the doctor assured us that everything would be fine. But even after treatment, the water was still coming out of her till last Monday, when the water began to smell. By this time, the pregnancy was already about eight and a half months old. “
According to the bereaved father, when on Monday, penultimate week, the smell from the water became unbearable, they decided to go back to the clinic, and she was promptly placed on admission. The following day, the result of another scan indicated that the baby had already died inside her and had to be evacuated by surgery. Thus, their fourth child was lost.
“After the removal of the dead child, I could not stand the sight of it, so I asked my mother-in-law and my stepdaughter to take it away for burial,” Oladotun said.
Meanwhile, Tunmise had been showing some symptoms of malaria and had been taking medication at home. But by Wednesday morning, she began to complain of body pains, especially in the ribs.
“I decided to take her to the clinic to see her mother and also get treated by the doctor. At the clinic, a laboratory test indicated that Tunmise had typhoid fever and malaria and she was promptly placed on admission in the same ward with her mother. She was however discharged the following day.
“On Thursday, her condition changed and got worse, so we went back to the clinic. Again, some injections were prescribed for her. After taking the injection, her breathing changed, but the doctor assured us that everything would be fine. So, I left for home that evening, leaving my daughter and her mother in the clinic.
“As I was leaving, I jokingly told Tunmise to get well quickly so that she would enjoy the things my mother brought from Ado-Ekiti for her or else I would eat them, and she told me she would get better soon.
“At about 4am the following day, Friday, I received a call that my daughter was in distress. She could no longer breathe and was bleeding from her nose, so she was being taken to the state-owned Central Hospital for treatment.
“When I arrived at the hospital, I called to know where she was, but was told that she had been referred to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital because there was no electricity at the central hospital. I was told that at UBTH, the doctor demanded money for oxygen and I told them that I would get money from the ATM at UBTH when I arrived there. But on my arrival there, I was told that my daughter had already died,” he narrated.
Thus, in three days, Oladotun lost his 13-year-old daughter and unborn child who perhaps could have been born in another one week or two. Little wonder that the man wept uncontrollably in the video.
“Imagine losing two children within three days. My wife is still at the clinic recovering from the surgery. She has yet to be told that her daughter is dead. I wanted my daughter to be buried immediately, but my wife’s relatives are insisting that an autopsy should be conducted to ascertain the actual cause of her death.”
The bewildered father said his late daughter was everything to him. He described her as a kind and lovable person.
Oladotun, however, had some harsh words for the government and those running health facilities in the state. According to him, a lot has to be done to improve the way things are done at government hospitals.
