Two of their children, Sam and Zoe, were at university and their 14 year old son, Michael, was studying for his end of year exams; filling every spare moment with his other passions of music and sport.
The family had always put an emphasis on healthy living and Michael and Bayo had recently completed a 5k run together. So when he started to feel tired all the time Bayo and Bola just put it down to the pressures of school. Then Sam commented on how yellow his brother’s eyes were looking and as Michael wasn’t getting better, his parents took him to a nearby hospital for a check-up. They were told to keep an eye on him and bring up back in three weeks.
But Michael’s health went downhill rapidly. Just one week later he was being rushed to King's in an ambulance, with the sirens blaring.
Bayo drove to the hospital as fast as he could and rushed to the high dependency unit. His son, who’d seemed so fit and healthy, was almost unrecognisable. Michael couldn’t stand and was confused and agitated – nothing like his usual gentle self. The doctors told Bayo and Bola that this was due to toxins in his body affecting his brain, because his liver was damaged.
Before there was time to process this shocking news, the Mabo's learned that Michael needed to be put into a coma and on dialysis as his other organs were under massive strain and his kidneys were failing. A few hours later, they were told that their son would be dead within 24 hours unless he had a liver transplant.
Bayo says:
"I broke down completely as I realised that Michael might be taken from me overnight. I remember saying, ““I don’t want to lose my son. He’s got his whole future ahead of him.”"
Two of their children, Sam and Zoe, were at university and their 14 year old son, Michael, was studying for his end of year exams; filling every spare moment with his other passions of music and sport.
The family had always put an emphasis on healthy living and Michael and Bayo had recently completed a 5k run together. So when he started to feel tired all the time Bayo and Bola just put it down to the pressures of school. Then Sam commented on how yellow his brother’s eyes were looking and as Michael wasn’t getting better, his parents took him to a nearby hospital for a check-up. They were told to keep an eye on him and bring up back in three weeks.
But Michael’s health went downhill rapidly. Just one week later he was being rushed to King's in an ambulance, with the sirens blaring.
Bayo drove to the hospital as fast as he could and rushed to the high dependency unit. His son, who’d seemed so fit and healthy, was almost unrecognisable. Michael couldn’t stand and was confused and agitated – nothing like his usual gentle self. The doctors told Bayo and Bola that this was due to toxins in his body affecting his brain, because his liver was damaged.
Before there was time to process this shocking news, the Mabo's learned that Michael needed to be put into a coma and on dialysis as his other organs were under massive strain and his kidneys were failing. A few hours later, they were told that their son would be dead within 24 hours unless he had a liver transplant.
Bayo says:
"I broke down completely as I realised that Michael might be taken from me overnight. I remember saying, ““I don’t want to lose my son. He’s got his whole future ahead of him.”"