Her name is Mrs Bunmi Esin. She collapsed suddenly at work 4 years ago and was taken to a consultant. After thorough tests, the “consultant” diagnosed her with Parkinson’s disease and put her on meds to aid her recovery and help her to continue living her healthy normal life. Parkinson’s disease being one of the paralytical diseases affecting the brain, muscles and bones. It is the generative disorder of the central nervous system of the body: affecting the mid brain. It has to do with movement. Symptoms include rigidity, slowness of movement, shaking. And difficulty with walking and gait. She used the prescribed meds continously for four good years and always went for checkups with the consultant. Money and time spent on drugs and what not. Not until in december 2011, she wanted a second opinion. She visited LUTH for a second opinion to determine her Parkinson’s disease because her health was getting worse.
They carried out fresh tests on her and found out her fall years back had only resulted in a dislocated shoulder; no signs of Parkinson’s disease.
How did a respectable “consultant” diagnose someone with a dislocated shoulder with having parkinson’s disease? Parkinson’s disease being one of the world’s most dangerous and complicated diseases. What symptoms of the disease did the consultant actually see before coming to her conclusion on someone’s health?
LUTH advised her to stop taking the meds. But her health deteriorated. I’m thinking for four years, the drugs searched and searched for ailments in the body to fight the diagnosed disease and when it couldn’t find any, it had a reverse effect on her body. Just like treating malaria when the person has chronic typhoid..
Her family complained that she couldn’t walk properly since she stopped taking the wrong meds. Her health deteriorated and she died right in front of her children on 18th March 2012: Mothers Day.
She made them promise her that when she died they wouldn’t keep her in the morgue for too long so her family agreed to bury her on 22nd March 2012: four days after her death.
This story is to inform and not to chastise our medical practitioners who try to save lives. I know the pressure is hard and they’re always trying to do their best. But they’ve robbed a family of a loving, quiet and caring wife, mother, sister, aunt and grandmother. Her demeanour was that of a humble and meek person and you begin to question why God takes the good people home. They didn’t even allow how her enjoy the fruits of the 5 kids she and her husband put through school; who are all now University graduates. She was 61.
There are people out there dying from the wrong diagnosis. Always advise them to get a second and even third medical opinion. Can go a long way in saving lives and money and preserving the health of Nigerians.
Bolanle Olajumoke
