The nightmare of an undocumented immigrant
As an undocumented immigrant in the United States, Opanin Adu-poku (name changed) has lived with this health problem for awhile. "Because of papers, I have to press against my upper abdomen to force my testicles back to their normal position in the scrotum anytime I am in pain," he said.
Opanin Adu-poku, originally from Ghana West Africa has been suffering from hernia, but is scared to seek medical treatment in Philadelphia where he lives. His fear is as a result of information he received upon his arrival in the United States from fellow African settlers that, undocumented immigrants could not seek healthcare, no matter the situation. As a result, he adopted this self medication style over the years, knowing very well it could cost him his life one day.
On this particular day in question, Opanin Adu-poku could not apply his usual self medication technique to his ailment, and had to, under the circumstance make a desperate phone call to a friend in New Jersey who is in medical school to let him know what he was actually going through. “I was at the point of death and could not do anything to have my life back. I saw myself literary dying,” he said with a soft voice. The severity of his situation made his friend in New Jersey arrange an ambulance to pick him up to the hospital.