04/01/2025
I was approaching this section of the hospital and heard a child crying.
You know a child can be doing small aahhh to get attention, cry small and stop or be doing serious business that you won't know where to hold her.
This patient was inconsolable.
The father was standing in front of her, talking and sweating. He was carrying a small baby in one arm and was holding a long crooked cane in the other hand.
As I got closer I shouted: give her what she wants naa. The father replied that she doesn't want anything. She likes crying.
I said sorry naa, the girl no gree.
I called her fine gal, she no gree.
I tried omalicha nwa, she still no answer me.
The father is screaming: This girl is as stubborn as the mother. Always crying. She doesn't listen to anyone. I don't know what I'll do with this child.
He's at the point of exasperation.
He lifts the stick and I hear tawaiiiii on the girl.
I rush and hold the stick.
Oga eeeh, if this stick touches this girl again, I'll remove my slippers and me and you will do it man-to-woman this hot afternoon.
Me: Oga look at this child's crying pattern.
As this girl is crying, she's constantly slapping her right ear. Frequent rhythmic well delivered slaps. The pattern of slaps can be predicted.
She's crying, slapping her ears and rocking herself on that seat.
Is she always crying like this?
Patients Father: yes.
P.F: Sometimes even when shes not crying, she slaps herself repeatedly. She's also always twisting her hands.
P.F: At 4 years, she can't even talk well. Making sounds we don't understand. It's only an evil spirit that can make someone behave like this. We have done deliverance for her in many ministries. She's still the same thing.
Me: Has a doctor ever been asked to look at her?
P.F: Yes, when she was 6 months and admitted for convulsion, we were on admission for 3 weeks, we didn't come back again.
The child didn't mind us, she's still doing what she was doing.
I offered a soft drink, a little bribe won't hurt.
She grabbed it, reduced her volume but continued crying.
I now remembered that music calms some of them. I cleared my
voice and started singing one cartoon song in off key.
She slowly calms down, stops crying.
Then she points at her father, points at her drink and shouts NO!!!
I told the father, this child is saying no before you even start, because she knows you'll beg her. Olonga😂😂
This child probably had a neurodevelopmental disorder. Not something cane and deliverance can solve.
She needs to be seen in a child neurology clinic. Let the experts assess her, put a name to what she has and roll out a treatment/ management plan...
While I was singing and the girl seemed to be calming down, the father was looking at us like : Na so we go dey go😭
Dr Lilian Nwobashi