Chukwueke is currently a subject
of attention at the U.S. Congress as
a special legislation that will enable
him have a permanent U.S.
residency is being considered.
His bill, which is being sponsored
by U.S. Senator, Carl Levin, a
Michigan Democrat, applies solely
to him. Vanguard reports that it would grant him permanent residency
as long as he applies for it within two years of the bill becoming law.
You may ask why he has been singled out amongst thousands of
Nigerians for a bill to ensure he gets permanent U.S. residency. Well, his
story as reported by Bloomberg an inspiring one:
Sopuruchi Chukwueke grew up as an outcast in the village of Ovim in
southeastern Nigeria. Tumors that distorted one side of his face wouldn't
stop growing, and doctors said he should be taken away and drowned. In
2001, when he was 15, his parents took him to an orphanage and
abandoned him.
He was rescued by a missionary nun, who arranged medical care in the
U.S. Eleven years and seven operations later, doctors have removed the
benign growths caused by the genetic disease neurofibromatosis, and
have performed reconstructive surgery.
In that time, Chukwueke, who lost his right eye to the tumors, has
earned a High School equivalency Diploma, achieved a 3.82 grade-point
average as a Biochemistry and Chemical Biology major at Wayne State
University in Detroit and won acceptance to the University of Toledo's
Medical school in Ohio.
"My own personal struggles to receive treatment have motivated,
inspired and continually encouraged me to pursue a medical career,"
he told Bloomberg in an interview conducted by e-mail because
extensive surgeries to his mouth and jaw make it hard for him to speak
clearly on the telephone.
"Nigerian doctors told me that there was nothing they could do, that
they do not have the facilities and expertise to handle my sophisticated
medical problem."
Chukwueke's family – his father, who is blind, his mother, and his six
brothers and sisters – is still in Nigeria. With help from Christopher
Harris, an Administrator in the Pathology Department at Wayne State's
Medical School and Senator Levin's office, his mother, Mary was in
Detroit in May 2011 to see her son for the first time in a decade and
watch him address his graduating class at commencement.
He had his seventh surgery that summer and applied to Medical School
in the fall. In November he was admitted to the University of Toledo with
one condition: that he obtain permanent-residency status by August 1 of
this year.
"I was overwhelmed with emotion. I said wow! This is a dream come
true." he said by email about how he felt when he was accepted.
He can't start classes this month, though, because the visa that enabled
him to travel to Michigan for treatment expired 10 years ago, and he has
been in the U.S. illegally since then. The only hope Chukwueke has of
achieving his goal is enactment of the legislation sponsored by Senator
Levin that applies solely to him and would give him permanent U.S.
residency.
Chukwueke said he initially reached out to Levin's office with the
assistance of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, an
Arlington, Virginia-based charity that works on refugee and immigration
issues worldwide. A private-relief bill "was my only option given my
immigration status," he told Bloomberg by e-mail.
When the bill passed the Senate last month, he said, "it was nothing
less than a miracle."
Chukwueke will have to wait a little longer to find out whether House
leaders will make time on the floor schedule for his bill, as Congress is in
recess until September 10.
With classes starting Aug. 20, he won't be attending medical school this
year. The University of Toledo has told him that he can start in 2013 if
his bill becomes law.
His goals now, Chukwueke said, are staying in the U.S., getting his
medical degree and "alleviating the pain and suffering of others,
especially those in underserved communities and nations."
For the last year he has volunteered at a medical research lab, shadowed
a surgeon at a clinic, and been involved with the Children's Tumor
Foundation, a neurofibromatosis support group.
Chukwueke still needs surgery to allow insertion of a glass eye and to
repair his nose.
His story is indeed an exceptional one and it is hoped he gets the
necessary legislation to enable him fulfill his dreams.
Well done Sopuruchi Chukwueke!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
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