Alphacus Agyei Addai, mother of a daughter living with the Spina Bifida condition has mentioned how she has dealt with her daughter’s condition for the last few years.
According to her, the journey has and is still not an easy one but she keeps going because, “I am a very determined person so after her birth, I read more about the condition, joined more platforms all around just to get information and to know whether or not I was alone”.
She revealed that, doing this has really kept her going and pushing and her daughter has also been helpful because she made herself accessible making it easier for her to help.
In an interview with Eunice Tornyi on e.TV Ghana’s African Women’s Voices she expressed, “After series of scans and MRI’s my daughter by God’s grace was operated on and after one surgery she was fine”.
She went on to say that because of this, her life was always in and out of the hospital as she always had back to back hospital appointments every week.
“Also because she had the club foot, it was like a different surgery will have to come in so honestly, sometimes were extremely stressful and draining because, as a mother you will need time for yourself yet you will not get it” she said.
Alphacus disclosed that, some doctors went as far as discouraging her, and informing her that her daughter might not be able to sit, crawl or walk but, “I did not give up. I still read a lot and I kept pushing her and telling her she could do it. That was what I always told her and I also made her sit at the times she was not suppose to”.
She highlighted that although her daughter will cry because of the pain she found ways to distract her until she realized she enjoyed sitting.
“I continued till I realized I was getting there. It was a whole challenge from her crawling to her walking stage but we kept going for our physiotherapy and I realized she was enjoying it more” she added.
She stated that although she fell down a couple of times she did not mind but still left her to continue until she got perfect.
“Now you cannot tell her no because she will tell you yes, mummy said I can do it and I must say that has really helped me and kept me going”.
She referred to the journey with her daughter as a difficult one but also one that has been worth it because she believes it has pushed herself and her daughter to do better.
“Sometimes it feels like a dream to me because I still cannot believe how we were able to come this far” she said.
By: Gyamfuah Owusu-Ackom