A two year old Zainab Bangura of Massesseh Village in the Bureh Kasseh Maconteh Chiefdom in the Northern district of Port Loko and two other girls from the Kono District are now on their way to Spain for surgical intervention.
The three patients have a history of caustic soda inhalation.
Bintu Koroma the eldest among them aged nine was a pupil of the Kono primary school, who on that fateful day went home very thirsty and took a cup of what she believed was water, but what turned out to be caustic soda and thirstily drank it.
Another victim Blessing Hones aged four was running behind her mother who had gone to ease herself at a nearby toilet, when she got distracted and saw a cup of soda in a corner, she went closer and took the cup and had a big gulp of the soda which seriously affected her
Zainab Bangura was also creeping when she found a cup of soda and drank it.
Although the incidents occurred in diverse dates and in different places, all the victims were eventually conveyed to the St John of God Hospital in Lunsar where they were admitted for the past one year.
According to the Director of the Hospital Bro. Peter L Dawoh, the children were brought and admitted with severe malnutrition as the soda had caused a blockage in their system.
Adding that even though they cannot be completely treated in Sierra Leone an initial surgical intervention was conducted on the three children and tubes were inserted in them to enhance feeding.
Bro. Dawoh noted that management was able to link up with a charitable organisation called CUIDAN program of the Barcelona children’s Hospital in Spain which consented to fly these children and their mothers for the surgical intervention.
Concluding Bro. Dawoh said the organisation will be responsible for transportation, medical cost and accommodation as well as the feeding of the parents.