CHILDREN are gifts from God. Universally, their arrival brings joy. An adage indeed says children are the mirrors used to project how prosperous or bleak the future could be.Little wonder then that the parents of David Ajayi, a five year-old boy, a hole-in-the-heart patient, have been running from pillar to post, to safe their son.Medical evaluation revealed that David's was underweight, suffers bilateral conjunctival injection, central cyanosis, digital clubbing and easy fatigability.Echocardiography test also revealed that the Nursery One student of Royal Gate International School, Ikorodu, was suffering from Ventricular septal defect and pulmonary atresia ' a form of tetralogy of fallot, otherwise known as hole-in-the-heart.According to his parents, David, has suffered various strange diseases since birth. According to them, his frequent sickness ranges from poor growth, darkening lips, redness of the eyes and frequent tiredness, until they resolved to seek medical intervention.About seven months ago, David's parents reported the case to a private hospital, Idera Hospital Group in Lagos, from where they were later referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).After series of tests, David's heart was found to have been pumping excessive blood into his system. This defect was initially corrected by removing two pints of blood from his body to prevent stroke or paralysis.'David is the only child we have. He is so precious to us. He is brilliant and friendly. But the life-threatening ailment has transformed him into another thing entirely. He does not smile again. His breathing is also high and he runs high temperature every now and then. He gets tired easily too and most times, especially since the last two months, falls off after few walks,' Pastor Ajayi Temidayo, David's father, told The Guardian.In the past two months, David's condition has deteriorated. He has had to withdraw from school. According to his mother, 'We could not afford to let him off. Although the schoolteachers are trying but we felt, he needs much more than that. He is our child, our hope and happiness and our unreserved care for him, at this trying time of his life, would mean so much to him.'While efforts to permanently stabilize David, appears to have failed, a final treatment certification report, from LUTH, has suggested the final.He is to undergo surgical operation abroad, with total expenses estimated at 7million, for medical and logistic services. Such, according to the report, would also include flight ticket for him and either of his father or mother and other unforeseen logistics.Right now, Mr. Ajayi Temidayo, General Overseer of Comforter Bibles Church, a newly established Christian ministry at Ikorodu, Lagos, is at a crossroads. He lacks the means to fund the surgery.He has sold his car and some other valuables just to keep David alive. Similarly, David's mother has also lost her job, no thanks to her inability to repay a loan she secured from the private hospital she worked with, in the process of diagnosing her son's ailment. Right now, with a jobless mother and a financially incapacitated father, David's life is hanging in the balance. He needs a N7million lifeline from kind-hearted Nigerians or government, or corporate organizations.David's father pleads: 'Nigerians should please come to my rescue. My only son and child is dying and his mother and myself, are financially incapacitated to help. We need kind-hearted Nigerians to come to our aid, so as to rescue David from this life-threatening disease. Right now, the life of my son is at the mercy of God and kind-hearted and good citizens of Nigeria. My son is highly intelligent and sharp and I believe he would grow up someday and be useful to our nation.'Looking pale and gasping for breath, David finally lends his voice: 'I can't play like my friends again. I can't run because if I run I will fall and faint. My leg is paining me. I don't want to die and I want to be a doctor.
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