BY MAYOWA SAMUEL
A former Nigerian actor, Chukwuma Chigaemezu has called on well-meaning Nigerians for financial assistance to enable him undergo a spinal cord surgery.
Chigaemezu’s inability to get enough funds to access medical care deterred him from being able to undergo a surgery as recommended by the doctor.
He was therefore moved to his village, so he could be close to his family. There, he has been confined in a small room in his father’s house, unable to stand or sit since the accident happened.
His journey to stardom didn’t go ahead as he planned following a spinal cord injury he sustained from an accident in Lagos back in 2001, which left him paralyzed in both his upper and lower limbs.
Chigaemezu was in the country’s drama industry in the late 1990s until 2001 when the accident truncated his career.
Mobile phone technology was just being introduced in the country when the accident happened, hence, he couldn’t be contacted because many of his colleagues didn’t have phones at the time.
While many of his former colleagues believe he must have moved into another business, others believe he must have already died.
His doctor however insist there is still hope of him being able to walk again, hence recommended, surgery at a tertiary medical institution but will need funds for the surgery along with other medical expenses.
Chigaemezu’s case is among several others in the industry where there have been incessant reports of actors losing their lives due to their failing health and their inability to get funds for their treatment.
