For the Olajide family of Akure, Ondo State, life has been an endless struggle since doctors discovered a serious heart defect in their one-year-old daughter, Iremide Exalted Olajide. Now, they are appealing to kind-hearted Nigerians for financial support to raise N20 million needed for life-saving surgery in India.

Iremide’s ordeal began at the Mother and Child Hospital where doctors detected an unusual heart murmur. Further tests at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo, confirmed suspicions of a serious heart defect.

A detailed medical evaluation carried out at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ile-Ife, by Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist, Dr B.S. Adeyefa, revealed that the little girl suffers from transposition of the great arteries—a condition where the aorta and pulmonary arteries are abnormally positioned, alongside large septal defects.

Her mother, Mrs. Dolapo Aderonke Olajide, recalled her devastation after learning the full extent of her daughter’s condition. “They told us her arteries were murmuring and that her heart had large defects. I was shattered,” she said.

Initially, surgery at OAUTH was estimated at N7 million early this year, but the family could not raise the funds. When the case was referred abroad, Fortis Hospitals in India put the total cost of surgery and related care at N20 million.

For Mrs. Olajide, a classroom teacher in Ondo State earning N45,000 monthly, the sum is simply impossible to raise. “Even if I save my entire salary for 20 years, I won’t be able to afford this surgery. That is why I am crying out for help,” she lamented.

With the encouragement of friends and medical contacts, the family has now reached out to the Gifting Volunteer Network, a non-profit organization that helps patients raise critical funds.

Olajide is appealing to Nigerians to come to their aid, saying she believes her daughter’s name, Iremide—which means help us to restore this glory—will one day be fulfilled.

“I have not known peace since her birthday. Every day, I watch her struggle, and we do what little we can. I pray Nigerians will hear our cry and help us save her life,” she pleaded.

Donations can be made to: Zenith Bank. Account Name: Iremide Exalted Olajide, Account Number: 2054711831. The family can also be reached on 0806 380 3386. (Vanguard)

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