ENT Surgery for Nigerian Girl
Donation protected
Hi everyone,
This fundraiser is not for me or my documentary, rather it is for a little 3-year-old girl in Abuja, Nigeria, named Noble Balogun. She is the daughter of my friend, Dr. John Balogun, a resident physician at the Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital whom I had the pleasure of meeting during my trip to film an episode of my documentary in April of this year. At the time, we were helping a little girl from a local village whom we had found during interviews with the elders, recover from sepsis infection and brain cancer. Unfortunately, as many of you know, she did not make it, but John’s unwavering generosity and assistance in the hospital to try to save this little girl’s life earned my trust and undying loyalty.
The Accident, Injury, and Complications
John has now reached out to me for assistance because shortly after we parted ways in May, he and his dear family were involved in an automobile accident, that left his little girl Noble with traumatic brain injury. She was hospitalized initially in the intensive care unit, requiring endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation life support to assist her in breathing. After a week and a half, she left the ICU but then spontaneously developed severe respiratory distress that was found to be due to narrowing in the back of the neck on cervical x-ray, and had to receive an emergent tracheostomy tube on the spot to allow her to breathe and prevent imminent death. Upon further analysis over the next few days with CT scan of the neck and a diagnostic laryngoscopy where they look in the airway with a camera, she was diagnosed with subglottic stenosis, or a narrowing of the area in the back of the throat that connects to the trachea and the two lungs and will limit the amount of air intake, emergently compromising one’s ability to breathe. Thankfully, she received the care she needed, and is now stable in the hospital setting.
The Surgery and Funds
However, the presence of a tracheostomy tube permanently is not a preferred method of living. She will be at risk for airway infections such as pneumonia, trach site infections, and possible trach dislodgement, amongst other possible complications. The preferred course of action is to surgically correct her subglottic stenosis, followed by removal of the trach, and allowing her to resume normal breathing over time. The issue is that the correction of the subglottic stenosis is not possible with current Nigerian surgical training, and the doctors have recommended to the family to move her to another country, such as the US or the UK, for corrective treatment. Given that the standard salary in Nigeria is no more than $100 to $200 a month, even for physicians, this is not possible for John and his family. I am still assessing what the cost of surgery out of pocket would be for them by consulting with my ENT colleagues in the Los Angeles area, but for now I have agreed to start raising money for little Noble and her family through this GoFundMe site. I owe that to John. He is a good man.
If you guys wish to donate, please do so here whenever you wish, as I will keep posting reminders and this site will be up for a bit until we figure out more of the pricing and logistics. Since I will soon be returning to the US, I will follow up while there as well. Remember, every dollar counts. I will be donating my own money as well as soon as I am back working in the states. And you can trust that all money will be sent by myself directly to John’s hands. Thank you for reading, God bless all of you, and God bless Noble, John, and the family.
Ali
P.S. – John has given me permission and consent to use Noble’s picture and publish her medical records here for your knowledge.
This fundraiser is not for me or my documentary, rather it is for a little 3-year-old girl in Abuja, Nigeria, named Noble Balogun. She is the daughter of my friend, Dr. John Balogun, a resident physician at the Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital whom I had the pleasure of meeting during my trip to film an episode of my documentary in April of this year. At the time, we were helping a little girl from a local village whom we had found during interviews with the elders, recover from sepsis infection and brain cancer. Unfortunately, as many of you know, she did not make it, but John’s unwavering generosity and assistance in the hospital to try to save this little girl’s life earned my trust and undying loyalty.
The Accident, Injury, and Complications
John has now reached out to me for assistance because shortly after we parted ways in May, he and his dear family were involved in an automobile accident, that left his little girl Noble with traumatic brain injury. She was hospitalized initially in the intensive care unit, requiring endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation life support to assist her in breathing. After a week and a half, she left the ICU but then spontaneously developed severe respiratory distress that was found to be due to narrowing in the back of the neck on cervical x-ray, and had to receive an emergent tracheostomy tube on the spot to allow her to breathe and prevent imminent death. Upon further analysis over the next few days with CT scan of the neck and a diagnostic laryngoscopy where they look in the airway with a camera, she was diagnosed with subglottic stenosis, or a narrowing of the area in the back of the throat that connects to the trachea and the two lungs and will limit the amount of air intake, emergently compromising one’s ability to breathe. Thankfully, she received the care she needed, and is now stable in the hospital setting.
The Surgery and Funds
However, the presence of a tracheostomy tube permanently is not a preferred method of living. She will be at risk for airway infections such as pneumonia, trach site infections, and possible trach dislodgement, amongst other possible complications. The preferred course of action is to surgically correct her subglottic stenosis, followed by removal of the trach, and allowing her to resume normal breathing over time. The issue is that the correction of the subglottic stenosis is not possible with current Nigerian surgical training, and the doctors have recommended to the family to move her to another country, such as the US or the UK, for corrective treatment. Given that the standard salary in Nigeria is no more than $100 to $200 a month, even for physicians, this is not possible for John and his family. I am still assessing what the cost of surgery out of pocket would be for them by consulting with my ENT colleagues in the Los Angeles area, but for now I have agreed to start raising money for little Noble and her family through this GoFundMe site. I owe that to John. He is a good man.
If you guys wish to donate, please do so here whenever you wish, as I will keep posting reminders and this site will be up for a bit until we figure out more of the pricing and logistics. Since I will soon be returning to the US, I will follow up while there as well. Remember, every dollar counts. I will be donating my own money as well as soon as I am back working in the states. And you can trust that all money will be sent by myself directly to John’s hands. Thank you for reading, God bless all of you, and God bless Noble, John, and the family.
Ali
P.S. – John has given me permission and consent to use Noble’s picture and publish her medical records here for your knowledge.
Organizer
Ali Karim
Organizer
Springfield, VA