March 11, 2014
Liberia: Circumcision Goes Wrong - 1-Yr-Old Loses Manhood [sic] to Cutting
Monrovia - Donors are pumping millions in the health sector of Liberia ... but the country's health sector continues to perform below par, not meeting the needs of the majority of the population.In many towns and villages across Liberia, access to a nearby health center is difficult as people commute over long distances ...
Even in Monrovia, the capital city, the health situation is still dangerous with unskilled doctors and other medical practitioners attending to patients. Little, Phillip Zinnah, Jr., one year, seven months old, hope of becoming a father is at the verge of becoming impossible as he is the latest victim of unskilled medics. On a fateful Sunday afternoon, January 5, this year, Little Zinnah faced the shock of his life when a 'doctor' only identified as "Dr. Nimely" completely cut off his penis in an attempt to have him circumcised.
Phillip Zinnah, Sr. 25, father of the boy explained that he took his son to the TB Annex to one Dr. Nimley ... ["] I have been hearing about him and he told me he can do the work. He charged me 600 Liberian dollars [$US 7.00] to do the work right ... I been to majority of the hospitals and the doctors said the boy penis is damaged and we need to go for advance surgery out of the country".
Dr. Nimley is said to have abandoned his patient, an innocent child who is currently facing severe pain as he is unable to urinate, with a stomach swollen.
"The doctor has not made any move, all the hospitals we went, they said it was the Doctor error, but he continues to deny it, all the hospitals I have been going, he is not with me. When I call him on the phone, he can't come; he is not picking my call. Sometimes when I get him on the phone, he will make palava with me, he says if that is the way I want to take it, I should carry him to court, he has money to get lawyer", Zinnah lamented in an interview.
Police let him go
The father who crushes rocks for survival, says he reported the case to the Police, but while the police was preparing to send them to court, he could not allow his son bleed and cry while he goes to court.
"I carried the case to Zone Three, they fix a document for them to carry us to court, I look at the boy condition, it was worse at the time so I have been from hospital to hospital. I have been to JFK two different times, Catholic hospital the doctor said it is a hard work, ELWA, James Davis Hospital, Rennie, all say the work is hard. They say I should get to TB Annex and get documents from there and Annex will tell me which hospital to go. I went to TB Annex, I met the administrator, she said the Doctor did the work on his own under a secret. She says, they are not circumcising there so they do not know about it. Three persons doing the work, he Dr. Nimley, Pewee and ... .", Zinnah explained.
According to Zinnah, an administrator at the TB Annex told him sorry, but indicated that the Doctor who performed the operation should bear his own punishment. Zinnah said he was convinced by Dr. Nimley who claimed to have performed such operation for over 50 years in paying for his son to get circumcised.
"The Doctor said he has been doing it for the past 50 years, ... Last week the [son's] penis hole was closed, he was not urinating, so he has been feeling pain, his stomach getting big, urinating crying, can't sleep. His skin is hot", said Zinnah.
Appeal for help
Zinnah is calling on the Government and other well meaning Liberians and foreign friends to help save his son's life through surgery abroad.
"... I feel so bad, this is my only child, now I am not working, I am doing rock business. All the money I have, I have used ... ".
'Doctor on Run'?
The man only known as Dr. Nimley when contacted responded to his call on one occasion, but after FrontPageAfrica inquired on the situation he switched off the phone. Several other calls were unanswered ...
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