Ten months after losing her left leg in a 2022 road accident, Kemisola Afolabi (not real name), an Ekiti State schoolgirl, is now able to stand and walk again.

After she was knocked down by a vehicle and subsequently rushed to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, for treatment, it did not take long before the teenager’s parents realised they would not be able to offset her treatment bills on their own.

This was the period FIJ waded in and decided to monitor her recovery journey by publishing a series of stories on important events that happened while she was still on admission at the federal hospital.

These events ranged from complex financial challenges to the unwillingness of the hospital management, led by Professor Adekunle Ajayi, the chief medical director (CMD), to provide quality support to the poor girl.

READ ALSO: After FIJ’s Story, Ekiti Governor Commits to Comprehensive Treatment of Schoolgirl Who Lost Leg in an Accident

Efforts to obtain a statement from the hospital on the actual amount needed to treat and rehabilitate the young girl also proved futile during the period.

As the battle to ensure Afolabi received proper treatment continued, FIJ got to learn from an independent source that the student would need about N3 million in order to undergo recovery procedures that included physiotherapy and the purchase of a prosthesis.

In response to one of the stories that FIJ published on March 14, however, Abiodun Oyebamiji, the governor of Ekiti State, decided to foot Afolabi’s medical bills, promising her comprehensive rehabilitation and the procurement of an artificial leg.

READ ALSO: Angry CMD, Influential Driver… Why FTH Ido-Ekiti Abandoned Schoolgirl Who Lost Leg in an Accident

Prior to the governor’s intervention, a Good Samaritan, who asked not to be named, had also donated N1 million to the victim’s family. The donation went a long way in taking care of the teenager’s bills before Oyebamiji took up further responsibilities.

FIJ’s coverage of the hospital’s decision not to adequately take care of Afolabi was frowned at. The CMD later accosted the victim’s family and expressed his displeasure to them for talking to the press on the matter.

The hospital would eventually discharge the patient forcefully, returning some money the state government had released for her treatment to her parents.

It also added that it was no longer interested in treating her. From Idi-Ekiti, Afolabi was then referred to another health facility.

The back and forth eventually came to an end on August 27 when an artificial limb bought by the governor was fixed on Afolabi’s her leg.

She is gradually adjusting to her new life, learning how to walk with the prosthesis.

READ ALSO: Missing File! Despite Governor’s Intervention, FTH Ido-Ekiti Frustrates Treatment of Schoolgirl Who Lost Leg in an Accident

“I want to specially appreciate FIJ and Governor Abiodun Oyebamiji for the solid support shown,” Adewale Olailo, Afolabi’s father, told FIJ in a phone interview. “Your efforts facilitated all the great things we have received in ensuring that our daughter got all the attention she needed. May God bless you.”

With one academic session lost due to the accident she had, the former student of Notre Dame Grammar School would soon be enrolled in another school close to her parent’s residence.

“I am still strong in my spirit to continue my education from where I stopped,” the girl herself tiold FIJ. “I am already talking with my parents so that we can find another school near our home. My parents are poor and I hope I can get more help from the public.”