• Mother, daughter dead, father ill, 3 sisters weighed down by financial, medical crisis
By Oluseye Ojo
Precious, Peace, and Prudence, the triplets of Mr. Kendrick Unaidet, were born on May 29, 1999, the day Nigeria began the current uninterrupted democratic governance. The trio had a relatively normal childhood until tragedy struck.
One of them, Prudence fell ill on December 2, 2001, with what seemed like a simple fever. However, her condition rapidly declined, leading to a series of misdiagnoses and mismanagement of her care at a teaching hospital in Oyo State.
Defying all odds, Prudence remained paralysed and bedridden for a staggering 17 years. The devastating situation plunged the family into economic woes, emotional trauma, and unending nightmares.
The father of the triplets, Kendrick Unaidet, who hails from Okat in Onna Local Government of Akwa Ibom State, lamented that he saw his carefully built investments, along with his entire livelihood, vanish due to the costs of Prudence’s care.
Despite their desperate efforts to seek treatment abroad, every attempt to raise funds was met with disappointment and misinformation from the teaching hospital.
In 2018, tragedy struck again as Prudence lost her battle with her illness. But the loss sent Peace, the immediate triplet sister, into a downward spiral of severe depression. Peace, who had constantly called out for her sister and questioned why she couldn’t receive the help she needed, is now in urgent need of treatment for her own mental instability.
However, with limited resources, the family is struggling to afford her medical care and is appealing for assistance. They fear for their safety and peaceful coexistence due to Peace’s triggered episodes.
To compound their misery, Precious and her family faced yet another heartbreaking blow when their mother fell ill in 2019. Taken to the same teaching hospital, she was diagnosed with likely ovarian malignancy.
Following surgery, her condition was reported to have been severely mismanaged, and the operated region was left untreated. The blame game between doctors and nurses ensued, further exacerbating the situation.
The wound became infected, emitting an offensive odour that probably served as a constant reminder of the agony the family endured. As a potential remedy, chemotherapy was recommended, but it only worsened her condition. She passed away in 2020, leaving behind a devastated family.
The financial toll of both illnesses and deaths left Kendrick Unaidet without the means to provide for the education of the remaining two of the triplets and also meet their younger sister, Peculiar’s basic needs.
At present, one of the triplets, Precious is a 200-level student of the National Open University of Nigeria, while the second of the triplets, Peace has not being able to further her education due to the depression. But their younger sister, Peculiar is a 100-level student of the University of Ibadan,
Both Precious and Peculiar are eager to continue their education but have found themselves on the brink of dropping out, due to their dire financial situation.
Apart from going to school, Precious has found a job to support the family. But the meagre monthly income of N20,000 has been woefully inadequate to cover their expenses. Peculiar also attempted to find employment, but the attempts have been thwarted due to her age.
At present, Precious and her sisters are reaching out to Nigerians, appealing passionately for assistance to cover their school fees and provide crucial medical care for Peace. They are also in need of a suitable laptop.
According to Precious, any form of assistance, whether full scholarships or financial donations, would provide a ray of hope in their dire circumstances.
They hold onto the belief that education is the key to their victory and their dreams of contributing positively to the society. .
Speaking on the health condition of her triplet sister, Precious stated: “Peace is running psychotic episodes intermittently on weekly basis. My dad is not financially buoyant to continue footing her medical bills. She is being seen by psychiatrists and psychologists at a private hospital.
“The hospital has recently asked that she be brought back on admission for closer observation, review and advanced care. But the hospital asked for N120,000 weekly for her feeding, drugs and tests, and so on.”
On the assistance for their education, Precious said: “I am a 200-Level student of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Ibadan Centre, Department of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. And my younger sister, Peculiar is a 100-Level student of the University of Ibadan, Department of Civil Engineering.
“Our major challenge is that our father is falling ill too often and unable to meet up with the financially responsibilities to pay our school fees and take care of my sick triplet sister.
“Unfortunately, we have no relatives either from our father or mother’s side capable of assisting us. In the midst of all the challenges, we believe that education is the key to our victory. I work as an intern in a private office and I’m being paid N20,000 monthly. This has not been able to sustain me in the present economic conditions.
“My younger sister, Peculiar, made several attempts to get something doing to support, but was told she’s too young to be employed. She is just 17 years old and very passionate about her education. My youngest brother is in JSS 2 and is 12 years old. It is very difficult to feed at the moment.
“I am really passionate about my education as well as my younger sister. The threat of dropping out is terrifying us already. I am yet to pay my school fees. Honestly, we’re depressed, we don’t wish to drop out.
“We’re using this medium to passionately appeal to spirited Nigerians to please come to our aid in the area of our school fees and intervention for my triplet sister’s health care.
“Presently, my younger sister, Peculiar is in need of a good laptop for her course. We’ve asked for the price of a suitable laptop for her, it’s sold at N270,000.
“We will appreciate kind hearted assistance from members of the public to fund our school fees e-wallets perhaps for a session to give our parent a relief to get well and resume his responsibility. We will also appreciate full scholarships, if given the opportunity.
“We want to survive and contribute to the society. And despite the challenging situation my family is going through, we believe there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
Meanwhile, Precious Heroine Kendrixk Unaidet can be contacted on 08033009695 and 08084110420 for assistance.