In the past couple of days, I have found myself in countless discussions about how colourless the celebration of Christmas has become in this part of the world. We have not only outgrown the flavour that accompanied Christmas in our younger days, it has become increasingly difficult for a lot of us to give our children the same deep commemorative sense that we had at Christmas. Things are so difficult these days that a lot of us do not even see anything to celebrate. But I think that is wrong. I referred one of those with whom I had this discussion to something I heard Pastor Itua Ighodalo of Trinity House say at the 10th anniversary of the Hearts of Gold Children Hospice, Surulere, Lagos, recently. In a brief exhortation at the event, Ighodalo said that anyone who thinks he has total control of his life or that his life is so unworthy as not to be thankful and be a blessing to others should visit one or all of five places. He suggested that such a person should take a trip to a hospice, (where people who are terminally ill are kept to receive palliative care), the hospital, the prison, the morgue or the burial ground. So, if you are alive today and you still feel like you have nothing to be thankful for, please visit the Hearts of Gold Children Hospice in Surulere, Lagos and let us share experiences after. Located on a sprawling premises donated by friends of the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, in commemoration of his birthday some years back, a visit to this facility would convict you of unparalleled ungratefulness, one for which you are bound to instantly repent. Founded by Mrs. Omolaja Adedoyin in October 2003, the hospice is one of the few (if not only) facilities where mostly terminally ill children with severe physical and mental challenges are housed and taken care of. Most of the 63 children who are currently in the home have terminal or life-threatening illnesses from which they may never recover. The hospice provides a round -the-clock comfortable, caring and loving environment for them to live for the short period that some of them may be alive. They also get respite support, palliative care and comfort and pain management while the house seeks for occasional funding assistance from corporate bodies and individuals for corrective surgeries for some of the children. At the moment, two of the children would inspire instant gratitude to God for that situation for which you think the end of the world has come. One of them, Latoya, was picked up by officials of the Lagos State Government from where she was abandoned by her parents. She was then taken to the hospice. Latoya is said to suffer from two devastating conditions namely:spina bifidaand The one is a condition in which the spinal column of a baby in the womb does not close thereby causing a variety of mental and social problems which would make life incomplete for the child. The other is derived from the Greek words, “hydro”, meaning water and, “cephalous”, meaning head. It is a condition in which the primary characteristic is excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain. Although hydrocephalus was once known as “water on the brain,” the “water” is actually cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) –a clear fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. The excessive accumulation of the CSF results in an abnormal widening of spaces in the brain called ventricles. This widening creates potentially harmful pressure on the tissues of the brain. Hydrocephalus in infants mostly comes with a rapid increase in head circumference or an unusually large head size. Children with the condition suffer a variety of conditions including vomiting, sleepiness, irritability, downward deviation of the eyes, and seizures. It is a life of unimaginable difficulty even from the point of view of mere observation. The other baby, Prince Adedoyin, suffers from a combination of congenital defects from which the adoptive mother, Mrs. Adedoyin, prays that the boy would recover. Help is still being sought for the procurement of surgery for the boy outside of Nigeria.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 23:10:07 +0000
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