27th February, 2011
At last Tomilayo Fakeye, the 27-year old wife of Afro pop/highlife singer, Shakomended, has cause to smile again after undergoing a successful kidney transplant a fortnight ago.
P.M.NEWS gathered that surgery was performed on the lucky woman at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos with her husband as the live-donor.
The surgery was carried out by a team of expert nephrologists led by Dr. Shonibare, Consultant Surgeon/ Nephrologist and Dr. E. L. Bamgboye, Consultant Transplant Nephrologist.
Speaking to P.M.NEWS after they were both discharged from hospital, elated Tomi expressed sincere gratitude to everybody that showed concern to her and her family.
“I am indeed grateful to everybody that extended their love to me and my family. The experience has been a very challenging one over the last one year, but I thank God that I was able to come out alive, stronger and a better person,†she said.
The mother of one was earlier in February 2010 diagnosed with end-stage chronic kidney disease at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH and required an estimated N6 million for an urgent kidney transplant.
Deflated and unsure of how to raise the money that would keep his wife of three years alive, Shakomended whose real name is Lanre Fakeye, organised a ‘Keep Tomi-Alive’ Concert on Sunday, 17 May, 2010 at De-Blue Roof of the Lagos Television, Agidingbi, Ikeja.
Despite the support of his friends in the music and entertainment industry, who thronged the concert in solidarity with their distraught colleague, the show was not really a huge success, as little could be raised for the ailing woman.
However, temporary help came for the young couple when Comrade Ayodele Adewale, chairman, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, Lagos State, and Solid Rock Investment Limited presented Tomi with a cheque of N1m respectively.
Friends, family and kind hearted Nigerians followed suit by also donating.
These monies were used for dialysis which lasted a period of seven months.
A life line however, came for Tomi when Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) the Executive Governor of Lagos State, through the Ministry of Health paid St. Nicholas hospital for the kidney transplant.
The artiste, also a former reporter with TELL magazine, now works as Business Development Manager at Premier Records Limited, while Tomilayo is a Guidance and Counselling graduate of the University of Lagos.
