Family cries for help over 7-year-old girl with twisted neck

It has been five years since seven-year-old Gift Ohanaga has been living with pains and wailing.

Though a bundle of joy at birth, her parents’ happiness began to wane when she was down with tortucolis at about two years.

The ailment, which tilts her head to a side, has become a major burden little Gift lives with every day. While her mates gaily play around their neighbourhood in Irese, Ondo State, she groans with pains.

Her parents had taken her to different hospitals within and outside the state for treatment but the condition persists while they spent all the money they could afford.

His father, Godwin Ohanaga, a carpenter, said they were told at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Akure, that she needed to undergo a surgery that would cost about N600, 000.

He said, “She cries all the time because of pain. We have been buying some drugs prescribed to her to reduce the pains. She took ill when she was two years old. It is difficult for her to walk and we have taken her to three different hospitals for treatment. We are poor and have spent the little money we could raise.

“Two years ago when we travelled to Asaba (Delta State), we also took her to a general hospital but there was not improvement. She is seven years old now. She was diagnosed with tortucolis and we were told at the UNIMED Teaching Hospital that she needs to undergo an operation. As of January, we were told the surgery would cost about N600, 000.”

Godwin lamented that he had been running around to raise the fund to no avail, appealing to Nigerians to assist Gift.

He said, “We want her to be walking like her mates. She feels lonely and we are not happy about it. We are begging well-meaning Nigerians to come to our aid.” Godwin said donations to his daughter could be sent to his UBA bank account: 2139321771 with the name Godwin Ohanaga.