Senior citizen and businessman, Amidu Oyebanji, whose legs were amputated after being diagnosed with Kaposi sarcoma, shares his story with AJIBADE OMAPE
What is your background?
My name is Akande Amidu Oyebanji, I am from Oyo State, where I was born and got all my education. I was born in Ibadan on April 27, 1967. I am from a family of Muslims.
Why were your legs amputated?
I was diagnosed with a type of cancer called Kaposi sarcoma by doctors at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, and I was advised by the doctors that if I wanted to live, my leg had to be cut off because it was infected with Kaposi sarcoma. At the time, I had an insect bite on my left leg and it was that leg that was first cut off; however, my right leg got amputated almost three years later after the same symptoms resurfaced.
In your video on social media, you mentioned that you suffered an insect bite on your toe. What happened after that?
About six years ago, I had an insect bite on the toe of my left leg; it was tiny just like when someone gets bitten by a mosquito, and it was not painful so I did not pay attention to it and I continued with my work and life was going smoothly; it later became a little boil on the toe and grew bigger as time went by. I then decided to pop it with a pin hoping that the pus and blood in it would come out so that it could heal perfectly. Days later, I noticed that the injury was a little damp so I started to nurse it and clean it up. I went to Baptist Hospital in Ogbomoso where I was given medications to use and also taught how to clean it up.
After a while, my wife, who is also a health worker, noticed that the surface was getting wider so she advised me to go to the hospital because the wound was not healing. I went back to the hospital where I saw a young doctor who was a junior doctor in the department, who advised me to go to a bigger hospital to get proper care. I was confused as to why but he advised that I either go to the teaching hospital in Ilorin or the University College Hospital in Ibadan; I decided to go to Ibadan since that was where I have lived all my life, so the doctor wrote a referral letter for me that I took to the UCH where we conducted a series of tests, samples were taken from the open wound and taken to the laboratory.
It took three months before the result was out and that was when I was told that I had Kaposi sarcoma. My family was sad, so we opted for local remedies, consultation, and herbs to treat it for about four to five months, but there was no solution so I went back to the hospital where I was advised that the leg would have to be amputated if I wanted to save my life. I agreed saying if that was the will of God for me, so be it. On September 29, 2019, my left leg was amputated as a result of Kaposi sarcoma. After it had been amputated, I received treatment and started using crutches; I was told not to come to the hospital again because my system was clean.
When it was about two years and seven months after my left leg was amputated, the second leg started showing similar symptoms to the first; I sought traditional treatment again to find out if it was the same issue as the first, but all efforts didn’t yield the desired result, so we went back to the UCH where they diagnosed Kaposi sarcoma and the doctors said they would have to cut off the second leg to save my life, I agreed and that was how the second leg was amputated on September 3, 2022.
What job were you doing before losing your legs?
I am a businessman, and I used to travel to neighbouring countries dealing in foodstuffs like rice, beans, and so on. I have not been able to do business again because mobility is one of the issues that I am facing. I used to go from Lagos to Cotonou and other neighbouring countries. I went to Cotonou through the Lagos route and I ended up in Sokoto; it was part of the business
What about your wife and children?
My wife is very fine; she has stood by me ever since this incident occurred; she did not leave me to myself, and my children as well have been very supportive. I thank God that they are all in good health and they have been with me ever since. They are the reason I still have hope.
Have your siblings supported you when you lost your legs?
Yes, my siblings have supported me in every way. Even my younger ones are instrumental in my upkeep and I’m very grateful to them for their support.
You mentioned that you were diagnosed with Kaposi sarcoma, how did you get it?
Well, like I said earlier, my left foot just started getting bigger after the insect bite. I have never broken a bone or nail since I was born, I am always very careful so I am sure I did not contract it from an infected person although, according to the doctors, I can say that the Kaposi sarcoma was as a result of the wound on my foot, which was from an insect bite, and at the time I got bit by the insect, I did not even feel it so I had no idea when I got bitten; the opening was as tiny as that of a mark made by an injection needle.
What kind of job do you hope to do now?
The first thing is to get properly taken care of because there is nothing on the ground at the moment; if you remember from the video on the Internet, I mentioned that I wanted to buy artificial legs and the legs will cost about N3m; I also need to go through physiotherapy, which will also cost a lot. I have been blessed by God; I previously owned a truck that I once gave to a driver, but at the moment, I do not have it again because when the sickness came, I spent everything I had on it, and there is nothing left right now; I am just grateful that my wife can support me as I can’t do anything for now.
Have you ever attempted suicide because of what happened?
No, I have never thought of it; I can never do such a thing. I love my wife and I love my children as well so I cannot even dream of it. I can’t leave them to suffer in this world, however, because of my human nature I feel sad sometimes. But I can’t do such a thing to myself, so even if I don’t have money, I have my wife and children. I don’t fall sick often, although about seven days after the Ramadan fasting, I usually have malaria, but once my wife gives me chloroquine injection and paracetamol and I fall asleep, I would be alright after a few days and it could take till the following year before I fall sick again. But I only take this as my fate.
As a result of your condition, will you say you are depressed?
To be very honest, I am human so I feel sad sometimes when I think about it. Sometimes I want to go out but I can’t because I have no legs to move; I have clothes in my wardrobe that I cannot wear because I cannot go anywhere, I just shuffle between two pieces of clothes because there is nowhere I am wearing my other clothes too; so yes, I feel sad sometimes when I also remember the places I have travelled to for business
You mentioned in your video that you needed to wash your internal organs, is it as a result of the cancer?
At the moment, I am no longer in control of my body, so I am always acting on the instructions of the doctors. According to the doctors, the cancer did not spread past my legs so I am safe; however, cancer is a disease that cannot be predicted. I had 10 chemotherapy sessions, but the doctors said physiotherapy is important for me to be rest assured that my system is free of the cancer.
How have your friends and other people treated you since your legs were cut off?
Honestly, people change with time. Some of the people, whom I used to do business with and who even owe me, and have seen my present condition, do not even respond to my calls again; most times when you call these people, all you will hear are prayers and they don’t even wish to pay up the money they owe; humans will always be humans.
How do you manage to get around and do things? Do you have someone assisting you?
I mostly crawl; I don’t even have a wheelchair. I can’t even get a wheelchair because it will require someone to be available to assist me, but my children have different lives to live. Coping is not easy but my wife tries her best and every other person around like my children and siblings also try their best to support me, That is one of the reasons why I posted a video on the Internet, just like people advised that I speak up hoping that I could get help.
Have you been cured of Kaposi sarcoma?
Only God knows what we don’t know; according to doctors, cancer is a disease that cannot be predicted, and they have also said that there are no signs of cancer in my system again. However, the doctors advised that I go for physiotherapy so that I can thoroughly rid my body of it and be sure that it is completely out of my system. But yes, there is no cancer in my system anymore as I speak to you.
You mentioned that you lost about 500 bags of rice to the Customs, have you been able to get them back?
This happened about three years ago at the time when the government said that we should not import rice into the country and there was no other way for us to convey it; we did not steal it so we could not throw it away, and of course, there is no way the Customs will return goods that they seize from you; I can say that it was part of the rice that was sold cheaply to members of the public and those goods are what we use to feed our families.
You said you needed N2m for physiotherapy, how much have you realised from that amount?
Honestly, I have realised a part of the money meant for physiotherapy. I have realised a total of N1,650,000 so I am left with a balance of N350,000 for the physiotherapy, I also need N3,000,000 for artifical legs so I would be able to move around.
Having artificial legs will be better than a wheelchair because someone who has a wheelchair has to employ an assistant, but with the artificial legs, I will be able to move about freely and do a lot of things by myself. It will cost about N3m to get one but I have not seen anything for that one yet. Getting an artificial leg will enable me to move about and get my job done efficiently.
What support do you need at the moment?
I would love people to help me get the necessary things that I need. I am not picky at the moment as beggars can’t be choosers, and I also understand the current situation of the country and how it is affecting everybody. I can’t ask people to donate money for my physiotherapy and still ask them for money to start a business, I just want help to sort out the physiotherapy bills and get the artificial legs. I just want to take good care of myself and I hope people can support me in any way that they can.
