Please stay healthy and work hard. You should take care of your mother, not the other way round especially if she is a widow. I called out the next patient from the waiting room where they all were and a young lady in her mid 20s stepped in walking with difficulty and holding onto her right side. I offered her a seat and was about asking questions when I noticed a rather elderly woman surreptitiously peep and hid. She repeated this three times and as though summoning up courage, she appeared in the door way and stood. I asked what the problem was and she just pointed at the young adult sitting in front of me. "yarinya na ne" she said. "Ohh!", I exclaimed jokingly and returned, "mama yarinyan nan ba ita ta kamata ta lura da ke ba, toh ya akayi ke kike lura da ita yanzu? Loosely translated as," mama isn't this girl meant to be looking after you rather than you her, what happened?" I diagnosed an acute appendicitis and made my plan and discussed with the mother as to the line of action. They had known all along, for over 2 months, that she needed an operation but for lack of funds, they stayed back at home until it became unbearable, complicated and she started vomiting severally. They just had to dash down here. I told mama the fee for surgery would cost 20k. Mama didn't say a word but encouraged me to go ahead. She open up her "Lalita"(some sort of save tied around the waist) and dipped all of her right hand inside it, did a sweeping motion and scooped all its content. One would think she had caught many naira bills but lo and behold, she brought out N3000 and asked that I hold this one yet, she would go and look for some more money. That was all she had home and abroad. She left. I asked the young lady where her dad was and she said he had died some years ago and she was the one helping her mother feed and subsist. So I asked where the mother was going to and she said she doesn't have a clue. "She has probably gone to look for the money." she assumed.
After a while one of my workers came in to inform me that a certain woman was sitting outside looking in the skies and appearing frozen as though she had seen a ghost. She was meditating because she hadn't a clue as to how to get the money for the surgery. It was the young lady's mother. I actually thought the woman was her grandmother because she looked quite old. She must have seen better days. Well, I operated on her without collecting a dime as usual but now, we just have to find away of paying up the hospital bills as this is what keeps the place functioning. What say you all, total bill shouldn't go beyond 30k with medications. This is the rural doctor initiative, where everyone deserves good health. We are optimistic!
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