Adepoju Abimbola Julihanah, a resident of Ibadan, Oyo state capital, has accused the University College Hospital (UCH) of dispensing an overdose of a heart drug that reportedly led to the death of her four-month-old son, Azeez Folajimi.
Folajimi, the surviving child of a twin pregnancy, was born with down syndrome and a heart defect. He died on August 7.
Speaking to TheCable, Julihanah, a cosmetologist, alleged that her son was given an overdose of Captopril, a drug prescribed to manage his heart condition, before a scheduled open-heart surgery at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ile-Ife.
“The cardiologist explained to me that it is a compounded drug, that they’ll have to make it for him and that it is best used within two weeks and that I should always come to refill it every two weeks. I was told it has to be in the fridge,” Julihanah said.
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The baby’s cardiologist had prescribed 2.5 milligrams daily dose. However, she said a pharmacist gave her two bottles of the same drug, which she administered to the baby for 16 consecutive days.
Julihanah recalled that she was initially given three bottles of medicines, one of which was Captopril, to be administered at a single 2ml daily dose.
“Since he started using the drugs, he never remained the same,” she said.
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According to her, the baby began losing weight soon after starting the treatment. She raised the concern with his cardiologist during a refill visit on July 1.
“But the cardiologist said they are expected, and said I should just make sure I was feeding him well,” she added.
During the July refill, Julihanah said she noticed a change in the cost of the drugs and the pharmacist gave her four bottles instead of three.
“I questioned him, I asked why and he said, ‘madam, I gave you what the doctor prescribed. Use it exactly how I asked you to use it’,” she said.
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“And one of the two bottles that had the same content, a part of the label had peeled, so I thought maybe they’re different.”
Julihanah said she assumed the extra medication was prescribed because she had earlier complained about the child’s weight loss.
REDUCED URINATION AND KIDNEY CONCERNS
Soon after, she noticed that her son’s urination reduced drastically.
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While making preparations for the surgery at OAUTH in Ile-Ife, she observed that his diaper stayed dry for as long as 12 hours, raising concerns about possible kidney damage.
On returning to UCH, she said she reported the development and was advised to conduct a kidney function test. By then, Folajimi — who weighed only 4kg at four months — had already used the overdose for 16 days.
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“On July 17, when I was convinced the drug could be the reason why he was getting worse, I took the medication to the pharmacy to ascertain why the kidney was failing,” she said.
Julihanah said that instead of empathy, she was confronted and blamed when it was confirmed that two bottles contained the same drug.
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She said the head of pharmacy scolded one Madam Bash for failing to supervise the intern who dispensed the medication.
Although she was told the kidney test results were fine, the dosage was reduced to 1.6ml.
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“But since then, his health has been deteriorating. He was just there,” Julihanah said.
Julihanah said the night before his death, her son was “restless and struggling”.
“In the morning, I was in the kitchen. My first child called me. ‘Mummy check my baby’. I carried him and he was looking at me and took his last breaths in my hands,” she recounted.
She rushed him to the nearest hospital, hoping he could be revived, but he was confirmed dead.
‘POLICE INTIMIDATION’
Julihanah also alleged that she faced harassment after going public with her complaints.
She said five days after her son’s death, she was contacted by Funmilayo Adetuyibi, UCH’s public relations officer (PRO), whom she gave her studio’s address “in good faith”.
Julihanah said the following day, a team of armed police officers from Akobo Police Station visited, claiming there was a petition against her for cyberbullying.
She was not at the studio at the time and later reported at the station where she said she was insulted and intimidated.
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‘NO FOOD FOR FIRST 20 HOURS OF LIFE’
Julihanah believes her son’s health issues began from birth owing to negligence.
She said Folajimi was delivered through an elective caesarean section (CS) at about 11am on March 10 at UCH, but was not fed for the first 20 hours of life.
She alleged that despite repeatedly asking to breastfeed him, the nurses told her to rest her head to avoid an anaesthetic-induced headache.
Julihanah said she was moved to the West 4 maternity ward and still not allowed to carry her son until late in the evening.
“When my mum came, I complained to her and she went to ask the nurses,” she recalled.
“That was when a nurse said, ‘don’t be offended’ and I was given the baby.”
She said she did not lactate until the following day, and when she asked if the baby should be given formula, the nurses did not respond.
“The baby did not eat anything till the following day when I started lactating. That was 20 hours, almost a whole day from birth,” she said.
Later, Folajimi was diagnosed with mild jaundice, G6PD, down syndrome, and four openings in his heart — all within within the first fews days of his life.
His mother claimed none of these were detected in scans done during the pregnancy.
UCH’s RESPONSE
Julihanah said she was invited to a board meeting at UCH on Friday where the chief medical director and other members of staff were present.
She said the hospital has commenced investigations into the matter.
When contacted, UCH PRO Adetuyibi told TheCable that a panel had been constituted to probe the allegations.
“I can’t say much on it now because a panel has been set up on it so until the panel comes out with their outcome, I can’t say much. It’s an allegation we already knew. It was on social media; so they need to do their findings,” she said.
