A boy of 8 from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who was flown to the United States for the removal of a facial tumor has passed on according to ex-NBA star Dikembe Mutombo. The trip, which was sponsored by the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation disclosed that the boy, Matadi Sela Petit, died on Friday.
Matadi, who is a native of Kinshasa, was born with a cleft lip and a tumor that continued to enlarge as he grew older. According to Mutombo’s Instagram page, “Matadi suffered an uncommon and unpredictable reaction to Anesthesia, and everyone is devastated at his passing”. Prior to being flown out on December 7th, he had received treatment at a hospital built by the Mutombo Foundation but the hospital did not have specialists to handle Matadi’s tumor.
According to the Foundation’s Instagram post, Dr. Ryan Osborne and his team were to operate on him at no cost in partnership with the Cedars Sinai Hospital family along with the Ronald McDonald House in Los Angeles California. Matadi was talked about and seen in a bad way by society, Mutombu quoted his mom “but he will still be remembered for his “vibrant and appealing” personality, “winning everyone’s heart with his open and friendly attitude”, said Mutombo.
Dr. Ryan Osborne received Matadi on December 12th and went ahead to conduct the surgery on Friday but despite their best efforts, he did not recover. Motumbo comforted his father and mother, family members, old and new friends with soothing words, with a promise that his death will encourage the Foundation to “continue to develop efforts and partnerships to improve the lives of the children of DR Congo”.
The Hall of Fame humanitarian, Mutombo, created the foundation in 1997 with an aim to improving the lives of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Foundation’s website reads.
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