Saved Twice: A Mother’s Journey From Crisis to Hope
Some stories come into our lives quietly, without warning, and yet leave an imprint we can never forget. This is the story of a young mother in Calabar, her three children, and one little boy who fought for his life twice, first in his body, and then in a hospital ward where poverty became a second enemy.
Her son was born with imperforate anus, a condition where the body’s natural opening for stool does not form. At birth, he was far too small to undergo the major surgery he needed. To keep him alive, doctors created a temporary opening on his stomach so waste could pass through. His mother had to learn to clean it, dress it, protect it, and live with the sight of her baby’s pain every single day.
She and her husband struggled through this silently. They had no income. No support. No savings. And no hope of affording the corrective surgery their son desperately needed. Still, they kept him alive the only way they could.
When he turned three years old, his condition worsened. His little body was failing. His parents rushed him to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, praying for a miracle.
The surgery was done. It was successful. Their little boy survived.
But they could not pay the bill.
And so the hospital kept them there.
Not for a week.
Not for a month.
But for six long months.
Six months of sleeping on hospital benches.
Six months of begging for food.
Six months of watching other families leave while they remained behind bars made of poverty, not crime.
It was during this time that we heard their story.
When we visited them, we also saw where they lived, a small wooden kiosk being used as a room. No electricity. No comfort. Nothing but courage holding a struggling family together.
We knew we couldn’t walk away.
We cleared the hospital bill in full, and the family was finally set free. Their little boy ran out of that hospital, weak but smiling, a smile his mother had not seen in months.
The little boy after his surgery, during our first visit. His temporary stomach opening and healing scar are visible.
On our next visit, we realized that the problem was not only medical—it was economic. The mother had no job. The father’s income could not sustain the family. Poverty had nearly taken their son’s life.
So we offered her 50,000 naira to help stabilize the home.
And shortly afterward, we returned again, this time to set up a small-scale business for her. A little stall, stocked with goods. A fresh beginning. A chance to breathe.
For the first time in a long time, this mother stood with her shoulders lifted. Not because everything was perfect, but because hope had finally come into her home.
Hope Saved Them. You Can Help Save Another.
Every day, families like hers face battles they cannot win alone. Children risk losing their lives, not because treatment doesn’t exist, but because poverty stands in the way.
Your support can:
save a child’s life
lift a widow out of despair
keep a family from collapsing
give a struggling mother a business
rewrite someone’s story forever
You can be the reason a child walks out of the hospital.
You can be the reason a mother smiles again.
You can be the reason hope rises in a forgotten home.
Be the Miracle for Another Family Today
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