Nearly two months after a devastating gas explosion at a Filling Station in the Edibe-Edibe area of Calabar South Local Government Area, the father of a seven-year-old survivor has cried out over what he described as abandonment and the crushing financial burden of his daughter’s treatment.
The victim, Happiness Ekere, suffered severe burns in the March 20 explosion and has remained on admission at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, where doctors continue efforts to save her life.
Her father, Mr. Anietie Ekere, said the family has been left to battle the situation alone, alleging that neither the filling station management nor its owner has reached out to them since the incident occurred.
Speaking emotionally with journalists, Ekere said he has struggled daily to meet the growing medical demands required for his daughter’s treatment.
According to him, doctors frequently ask the family to purchase drugs and medical supplies outside the hospital, expenses he said have become overwhelming for him as a casual labourer surviving on irregular income.
“Some days I spend close to N10,000 just on medication alone,” he said.
“That does not even include transportation or feeding. I am only trying my best to keep my daughter alive.”
He disclosed that Happiness recently underwent surgery, while doctors have reportedly informed the family that another major procedure may cost over N1 million.
The grieving father said the situation has become even more painful following the death of his 15-year-old son, Solomon Ekere, who also sustained injuries in the explosion and later died about a week after the incident.
“My daughter is still struggling to stand or walk properly,” he said. “I don’t know where the money will come from anymore. I just pray she survives.”
A member of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, and a volunteer support group assisting the family, said sympathisers have already spent close to N1 million on drugs, tests and wound management since the incident happened.
The source, who requested anonymity, explained that many prescribed medications were unavailable within the hospital and had to be sourced from private pharmacies.
According to the volunteer, some injections cost as much as N13,000, while routine wound dressing expenses could rise to about N15,000.
The source, however, acknowledged that the Cross River State Government had intervened in aspects of the surgery and certain hospital procedures, though most daily treatment expenses were still being handled by volunteers and the family.
Ekere has now appealed to the Cross River State Government, public-spirited individuals and humanitarian organisations to urgently come to the aid of his daughter.
“All I want is for my child to live,” he pleaded. “I cannot bear losing another child.”
There are reports suggesting that about two days ago, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, distributed food palliatives and other supports originally meant for the victims of the gas explosion in Calabar but most beneficiaries were not persons affected by the incident.