By: Sarjo Brito
Alim Gitteh, father of one-year-old Jalika Gitteh who died of acute kidney injury (AKI) recalls the tough decision he had to make for his daughter to be operated on before finally succumbing to AKI. Alim, who is a native of Kitty in the West Coast Region said he had to make a tough decision when his daughter was diagnosed with AKI. Gitteh said he was given an ultimatum for his daughter to be operated on in a bid to save her life.
‘’I remember the Doctor telling me that her situation has reached a life-threatening stage and asked me if I could decide so she could be operated on. I asked for some time to think about it. It was a tough decision to make as a parent. I spoke to my wife, but she too could not tell me anything at that time. I couldn’t arrive at a decision. I remember walking back to the Doctor’s office and asking him if there were other alternatives to help save my daughter’s life. The Doctor told if she was not operated on, a lot of damage could be caused to her abdomen. I had no other choice but to trust God and give my consent to the operation.’’
A tough call but Alim agreed to the operation as he continued to ask the difficult questions. Alim said he asked the Doctor what type of procedure was about to be done on his daughter and asked if it required open abdominal surgery.
“The Doctor told me no, that they were only going to make a hole to allow them to remove the urine that has been in the baby’s kidney for days. That was how I signed the consent form. I felt sorry for my child because she was going through a lot of pain. I carried my child up to the door of the surgical room and was asked by the Doctor to stay back. All the kids that went through surgery before my daughter, all came out dead. I stood at the door while three dead bodies of little children were taken out of the surgical room where my daughter had been taken.’’
A sight of horror he said. Alim said he was relieved after his daughter’s successful operation. But what happened in the next hours according to Alim, is something that no parent should see their child go through.
‘’My daughter was still breathing. My hopes were at least up. After the operation, she went through intense pain as she continued to cry the entire night. I went to the hospital the next morning and was asked to go buy some medicines for her.’’
Alim’s one-year-old daughter would, unfortunately, be part of the 69 children who have so far succumbed to AKI. He has joined other Gambians to ask the Gambia government to hold accountable whoever authorized Maiden Pharma products to be sold in The Gambia.
