Little Testimony Adebayo battles a rare heart condition as parents cry out for urgent public support
By Sofie Ayodeji
A family in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, has made an emotional appeal to Governor Biodun Oyebanji and well-meaning Nigerians for financial assistance to save their seven-year-old daughter, Testimony Mosunmade Adebayo, who is battling a life-threatening heart condition.
Testimony, who will turn eight on July 25, 2025, was born with Tetralogy of Fallot; a congenital heart defect.
Her parents say she has suffered numerous health complications since birth, and despite their best efforts, they can no longer afford the critical surgery she now urgently needs.
According to her father, Mr. Samuel Opeyemi Adebayo, doctors at the Afe Babalola University Multi-System Hospital and Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital have advised that the little girl must undergo open-heart surgery within the next three months. The estimated cost of the operation is now N8 million.
“Initially, we were told the surgery would cost N6 million. We managed to raise N5 million through loans and family support, Mr. But her condition worsened, and doctors discovered another life-threatening issue with her lungs. The money was used to carry out emergency surgery on her lungs, which cost about N4 million. Now we’re back to square one, needing N8 million again to save her life,” Adebayo said.
In a desperate move, the family wrote a formal appeal to Governor Oyebanji on September 13, 2024, seeking financial help. The letter was acknowledged by the Governor’s Office, but the family says they have yet to receive any form of assistance from the state government.
Her mother, Mrs. Folake Adebayo, who has been the child’s primary caregiver, made a tearful plea on Monday:
“We have spent everything we have ever earned on our daughter’s treatment. Every month we pay N60,000 for echo scans, and she’s on expensive medication. We are emotionally and financially drained. Please, help us keep our daughter alive.”
The family provided the following details for donations:
Account Name: Adebayo Alaba Folake
Bank: Access Bank
Account Number: 1708895130
Phone Number: 0806 226 3982
Supporting the family’s claim, a letter from a consultant paediatrician at the Afe Babalola University Multi-System Hospital, Dr. O.E. Bello, confirmed the critical condition of the child.
Dated March 21, 2025, the letter reads:
“Testimony is being managed for Pentalogy of Cantrell with intrinsic cardiac pathology, Tetralogy of Fallot. She recently had a BT shunt procedure due to severe hypercyanotic spells. While this intervention was successful, she urgently needs a definitive open-heart surgery within six months at an estimated cost of N8 million.”
The family is now calling on the Ekiti State Government, corporate organisations, NGOs and members of the public to help save their daughter’s life.
Credit: Thepoint
