A 21-month-old baby, Chimamanda Fedora Moses, has been diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening heart condition, and her mother, Precious, is appealing to well-meaning Nigerians for financial support to fund an urgent surgery estimated to cost ₦6 million.
According to The PUNCH, Chimamanda, who lives with her parents in Kubwa, Abuja, suffers from Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, a congenital heart defect that affects the normal flow of blood and oxygen in the body.
The condition, doctors say, requires an open-heart surgery to be carried out urgently by a team of specialists scheduled to arrive in Anambra State this October.
According to her mother, the baby struggles daily with breathing and frequent collapses, leaving the family in constant fear for her life.
“She wants to walk and play like other children, but she can’t,” Precious told PUNCH Metro. “When she cries too much, she becomes weak and can hardly breathe. Sometimes she faints, and we rush her to the hospital. Doctors say her oxygen level is too low, and only surgery can save her.”
Medical experts at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, confirmed that without the surgery, Chimamanda’s survival chances remain slim.
The operation is to be conducted at Dame Irene Memorial Hospital, Anambra State, between the first and third week of October.
Precious said she had been forced to abandon her catering business to care for her daughter, while her husband’s income has dwindled due to the frequent medical emergencies.
“Each time there’s an emergency, he has to leave work and follow us to the hospital. We’ve spent everything we had just to keep her alive,” she said. “Sometimes doctors have to draw her blood to reduce its thickness. It’s heartbreaking to watch, and it’s happening more often now.”
She described the experience as emotionally and mentally exhausting, saying the situation had robbed the family of normal joy and peace.
*I was so excited when I was pregnant with her—she’s my first child,” she said tearfully. “I imagined sleepless nights of joy and laughter, not hospital visits and constant fear. It’s draining, and doctors keep reminding us that only surgery can help.”
The family is now reaching out to members of the public for assistance to raise the needed funds for the surgery and postoperative care.
Donations can be made to Chimamanda Fedora Moses, UBA Account Number: 2371265363.
“We are pleading with Nigerians to help us,” Precious said. “My daughter deserves a chance to live. She is a fighter, but we can’t do this alone.”
