For residents of Sabon garin Kuraye, a
sleepy community at Charanchi local government area of Katsina state, Friday
the 28th of September will remain indelible in their mind as it marked the day
the community witnessed the birth of a child with three legs, Muazu Elazeh
reports
When labour met her that day, Maryamu
Bala, as all expectant mothers do, expected to be delivered of a normal healthy
baby.
After a few hours, the child was
delivered in the wee hours of Friday. It came out like every other child except
that, unlike other children, it had a third limb with complete features of
human legs.
It was observed that the baby’s third
leg which sprung out at its waist, has the complete features of human limbs
except that it looked smaller than the two normal legs.
Not surprising however, residents of
the community, most of who confessed to seeing the situation for the first time
in their lives, reportedly thronged into the house of Mallama Maryamu to catch
a glimpse of the baby, which most of them described as one of the wonders of
almighty God.
“We marveled at the sight of another
limb and were at first taken aback but then, we consoled ourselves with our
faith in almighty Allah and the belief that He can do whatever He wishes”
Malama Hadiza Galu, 33, a resident of Sabon Garin Kuraye, said.
Although hospital officials had
certified both the baby and the mother to be in “sound health”, residents of
the area described the situation as rare even as some appeared filled with awe
as they gazed at the sight of the baby.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, Mallam
Abdurrahman Sale, the child’s grandfather said “the whole thing is surprising
and it is a lesson for humanity. But as a Muslim, I know there is nothing Allah
cannot do and I think this is one of His countless wonders.”
Malama Maryamu, mother of the baby,
told our correspondent that it was her sixth child and while carrying the
pregnancy, she never felt any abnormalities and so had no inkling at all that
the baby would be born with the rare condition.
“I never felt any different from my
previous pregnancies and I had a very smooth delivery” said Mallama Maryamu ,
noting that in all of her twenty eight years, “I have never heard of or seen a
child born with these features.”
“When the child came out with three
legs, the first thing I did as a Muslim was to recite ‘Suratul Fatiha’ and
‘Kalmatul shahada’ after which I thanked God for the blessing.”
“My prayer since the delivery has been
to ask for God’s intervention so that if it is possible to remove the third
leg, let it be removed and if it is not possible, May Allah bless the child for
us and help him grow up to realise what he has been destined to become in life”
she added.
She was, however quick to appeal to
well- meaning citizens and the local government council to assist the family
with needed funds to embark on surgery.
Although the the Transition Management
Chairman of Charanchi Local government, Alhaji Mustapha Galadima could not be
reached, the Vice chairman, Musa Kalla Bala Kuraye said the council had sent a
delegation to the child’s family and assured of necessary support noting, “we
will foot all the bills incurred at the cause of the surgery and we have given
the parents our word to support them in all ways possible.”
Dr Sabiu Giade is a consultant,
Pediatrics and the Chief Medical Director of Turai Yaradua Maternal and Child
Hospital. He told our correspondent that what is erroneously referred to as ‘third
leg’ is ‘ parasitic conjoined twins’ noting, “it is actually supposed to be a
set of conjoined twins but the other part did not develop.”
Source: Leadership
No comments:
Post a Comment