Monrovia – A Diabetes patient who lost one of her legs through the disease has called on others Liberians who are suffering from Diabetes not to take the disease for granted but to visit the Liberia Diabetes Center (LDC) for checkup if they wish to be saved from the disease.
Report by Macaulay Sombai,[email protected]
Mrs. Aletha Blamon who is a resident of Baptist field Duport Road community made the call over the weekend after she was presented LD$10,000 by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Liberia Diabetes Center Mr. James Momoh as his center’s help to the lady.
Mrs. Blamon explained that she gave birth to six children, but only two are alive a boy and a girl, the four could not survive due to the rapid spread of the Diabetes disease in her body.
According to her, she was tested positive for the disease in 2001 at which time she was pregnant and the hospital made it clear to her that she will always experience the disease while pregnant but she need to go for a checkup but she did not take the advice serious at the time.
Said Ms. Blamon: “I was told about the disease in 2001 during one of my pregnancies but I failed to follow the advices that were given to me by the doctor until 2010 at which time the sickness got serious and I started taking treatment bit by bit but still I was not too serious about the treatment until my feet got swollen.”
She voiced that after her feet got swollen, she visited the St. Joseph Catholic Hospital where she was told that the toes on her left leg were all dead and that the leg needed to be amputated to prevent the diease affecting her right leg too, so she agreed for her leg to be amputated.
“I was kept at the St. Joseph Catholic Hospital for three weeks waiting for my leg to be amputated but they failed to carry on the amputation at which time I was taking to the Jackson F. Doe Memorial Hospital in Tappita Town where they carried on the amputation of my leg but they did it twice after realizing that my leg could not get healed from the first amputation.” Mrs. Blamon narrated.
She called on others that are suffering from the disease to take it serious and visit the Diabetes Centers on Front Street in order for them to know their health status and take the proper precaution.
“I want to encourage every Liberians who are suffering from diabetes to take it serious and follow the advice given because this disease is very painful and it can destroy life.”
Mrs. Blamon paid tribute to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Liberia Diabetes Center Mr. Momoh for his institutions continued support to her and other Diabetes patients in the country.
“I am very grateful to Mr. Momoh and the Liberia Diabetes Center, family who have been helping me with drugs, cream, crutches and some other things and I know very well that they are giving the same help to others that are suffering from the disease so I am calling on others who have the hand to follow the good example of this man.”
The CEO acknowledged that the aim of his medical center is to encourage people to go there and get tested whether they are suffering from the disease or not because through the test they all will know their status because diabetes is a dangerous disease and has caused so many people to be handicapped.
“The aim of Liberia Diabetes Center is to encourage people to come and get tested whether they are suffering from the disease or not because diabetes is now a dangerous disease in Liberia and is causing so many of our people to be handicapped but with enough information and education we all can help to prevent it from spreading among our people.”