The management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba has denied any involvement in the #SaveMayowa charity campaign which was flagged as a scam yesterday.
Yesterday, some persons claiming to be close to the Ahmed family alleged the fund raising campaign for Mayowa Ahmed, which garnered attention after actress Toyin Aimakhu promoted it on social media, is a scam because she has stage 4 cancer and was beyond treatment.
LUTH has however in a statement revealed Mayowa is an old patient of the hospital and she had been earlier diagnosed with an abdominal mass after examination by three specialists at the teaching hospital. The management further added that they were not aware of any fund raising arrangements and only agreed to increase her PCV level after her family re-admitted her and requested for her to be treated in preparation for air travel.
Read the statement in full below:
Mayowa Ahmed is an old patient of LUTH who has been on treatment for another condition. This 31-year-old lady came into the Private Wing of LUTH on Monday, 25th July, 2016 with a history and clinical features of an intra-abdominal mass. The family and the patient brought along some results of laboratory investigations ordered and done from outside LUTH.
“Three different specialists were invited to review Mayowa. The Gynaecologist, Oncologist and Haematologist all arrived at a tentative diagnosis of an abdominal malignancy. They planned to conduct a series of fresh tests to confirm the definitive diagnosis, since the earlier tests were neither requested nor authorised by any doctor from LUTH.
“The family, however, requested to fly Miss Ahmed outside the country barely 24 hours after her admission in LUTH, thus stalling all the planned investigations meant to arrive at a definitive diagnosis.
“We were able to transfuse her with much-needed blood only after lots of persuasion where the family was told point blank that it was risky for her to travel by air, given her low blood count. Today is the third day after admission and a definitive diagnosis has not yet been made while the relations insist, on their own, to carry her abroad.
“LUTH has only dealt with Miss Ahmed and her relations throughout her stay and not with any other third party. Contrary to any circulating information, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital did not refer Miss Ahmed overseas and the institution is not involved with any fund-raising activity or activist on her behalf.”
“Both parties are presently with the police and we urge the general public to patiently await the outcome of the ongoing police investigations. We also enjoin the good-natured public, our caring pressmen and all philanthropists to seek the expert opinions in Nigeria if we want to maximise the gains of their concerted efforts and selfless contribution towards alleviating the suffering of fellow Nigerians.”
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