BY CHARLES KUMOLU

Mrs Dupe Olowoyo...down with a mystery ailment

WHEN Dupe Olowoyo wedded her heartrob Sunday Olowoyo in 1996, her joy of a blissful married life was boundless. Even though babies did not come immediately after the marriage, she did not entertain any fear or misgivings. And when she had a baby boy two years after, the couple felt happy. Same celebration of God’s love was also replicated when another bouncing baby boy followed a year later. At this stage, Dupe was so certain that life had brighter prospects for her, as she looked forward to having a fulfilled family life. But that presently seems to be a futile dream as fate has chosen to show her the other side of life.

Unexpectedly she lost her husband Olawale Olowoyo, who passed on to the great beyond in what she described as mysterious circumstances. “We were together in bed one night when suddenly he started coughing. We took him to the hospital and the doctor prescribed some drugs for him and the intensity of the cough reduced. But the next day, he was back in the hospital for the same reason, the cough relapsed. After two months of treatments, he lost the battle and died,” she lamented.

Continuing, Dupe said: “On the morning he was going to die, he left for the hospital for his treatment and came back to the house for a rest. When I came back from my shop, he was asleep and I tried waking him up. Despite my prompting, he did not respond. I soon realized the light of my life had burnt out,” she wept.

Her in-laws also made sure there was no respite from her sufferings and pains of rejection. As if these were not enough, she woke up one beautiful morning in August and was greeted by an excruciating pain from a boil in her private part.

Dupe immediately went to a pharmacist to buy some drugs, but rather than subside, the boil grew in size. Confused with the situation, she approached a native healer renowned for her ability to cure different kinds of ailment with herbs.

Mrs. Olowoyo was given some concoctions which she administered, but instead of the boil to disappear, it increased in size. Soon blood started oozing out of her private part.

It was then that it dawned on her that there was more to her ailment than seeking some cheap quick relief measures. Dupe, however, rushed to the General Hospital for specialist attention. It was at the Hospital that she was told to bring N90, 000 and five pints of positive blood for radiotherapy. As she lay writhing in pains, Modupe moans: “Since I lost my husband, I have been fending for the children and myself. I want to make sure my children get educated without any compromise. But here I am now, just because I couldn’t afford the money, I have been down with the sickness.”

Modupe was later diagnosed with cancer of the cervix, which the doctors say is curable. In the quest for a cure, she has approached several people and institutions, including Pastor TB Joshua’s church.

She narrates her ordeal further: “I met his staff and I was told to go and fill some forms via the internet. That was how l lost hope and resigned to myself to fate. I can’t even sit for long; neither do I have knowledge of computing.

“Some people came to my rescue about three years when it started. I was operated on around 2008, but to my utmost surprise, the swellings and sores came back. At the moment, my family has given up on me. They said there is nothing they can do again.

“My husband’s family members have left me, including my friends. I have nowhere to go; even to eat is a problem. At times, my two sons and I have to go out to beg for us to eat. At times, I will not eat for two days. But of course, I will make sure my children eat garri, just for them to have something in their stomachs. Some of my neighbours have decided not to come to my room ever since this started. I am not blaming them, because of the appalling smell that oozes from our room”.

As a result of her ill health which has hindered her ability to take care of the children, the two boys are now always on the streets of Lagos seeking for assistance.As she narrated her story, punctuated by intermittent sobbing, she repeatedly pleaded: “I need to live, and I don’t want to die! All my people have left, I have nowhere to turn to, nowhere to run to. I need help from Nigerians.”

Despite her pain however, she urged women to always go for medical check-up. “Life is short; take good care of your body and always prepare for the worst,” she advised.

The family can be located at No. 99/ 101 Abaranje Road, Ikotun, Alimosho Local Government Area, Lagos State; telephone number: 08027647056.