While asking a patient questions yesterday in a bid to figure out the cause of her illness, I was curious as to what kept her from coming to the hospital since she first observed the symptoms about eight months back.
So, I asked, “But, madam, why didn’t you come to the hospital earlier? And what have you done about these symptoms since the time you first felt them?”
Her long, but sad reply is what prompted this post.
“Hmm. I actually went to the hospital, and I was told to go for certain tests. But I felt that was stressful, so I didn’t go for the tests. Besides, I always felt what I had was a spiritual attack, and that with prayers the problem would be solved.”
“But someone later later introduced me to some people who claimed that they could treat me, and all the symptoms would be gone. They told me that what I’m battling with is a stroke, and that with certain medications they would sell to me, I would be absolutely fine. They even proceeded to test me with a machine connected to my body. According to them, it’s a ‘general check-up’ machine that can detect problems in all systems of the body.”
“After conducting the test, they told me the stroke had damaged many parts of my brain, and that I also had liver disease, ‘moderate’ kidney disease, and a ‘little typhoid’. And the solutions they offered to all these problems were certain drugs, which I bought for a total of N171,000 in total.”
At that point, I was shocked. So, I asked, “But who are these people, and what drugs did they sell to you?”
Her son, who was also sitting with us, then cut in at that point, “Well, Doctor, I warned her about those people, but she wouldn’t heed. They called themselves ‘Neo-Life’ or something like that. Now, even after I personally paid for the drugs upon my mum’s insistence, we didn’t get any positive results.”
I then asked, “That’s sad. But then, madam, when you didn’t see any results, why didn’t you return to the hospital to at least try them again?”
She replied, “I couldn’t return to the hospital because those people warned me not to have any injections or take any drugs if I don’t want a terrible outcome. I even had to come now because my son insisted I do that.”
At that point, my jaws dropped.
Now, please note that what the woman had been battling with is NOT stroke as later confirmed by a consultant neurologist in the same hospital. So, the initial diagnosis of stroke was absolutely off the mark!
Note, also, that the tests she was initially told at the hospital to go for would have cost her no more than N60,000 in total.
It’s bad enough to frighten gullible people with serious health problems they really don’t have. It’s worse to rip them off of their hard-earned money. But the worst is to tactically warn them against going to the hospital or seeking further care from those who would tell them the truth.
Stories like this aren’t new to me. I’ve heard of several similar instances where people are misdiagnosed and ultimately scammed.
In my subsequent post(s), I’ll give more details of how these scammers operate and how they can be easily busted.
Abass Adeola Toriola writes from Abeokuta, Nigeria.
