Boy, 8, loses testicle at play

It was a quiet Friday afternoon in a bubbly Kweikuma suburb of Takoradi. Two boys, Maxwell, 8, and his fairly elderly brother, Kwesi, 15, were getting at each other in a typical childhood game: rolling empty cans of milk, Milo, lorry tires and sticks stuck with nails.

In the distance was a collection of other boys leisurely kicking a saggy football on a dirty, dusty park close to the biggest drain in Takoradi.

Elders, grown-ups and parents were busy whistling past in rapid succession taking little notice of the boys at play around the garbage dump.

Soon, Maxwell let out a loud yell, fell on the ground writhing in pain with blood oozing profusely from his groin area. The playmates started calling for help as they got closer.

Samaritans rushed to the aid of the 8-year-old and noticed immediately that the young man was in serious distress clutching unto his groin area as blood spewed out.

A taxi cab was immediately flagged and little Maxwell was hauled into the almost speeding vehicle.

In a matter of minutes, the whole mystery was clear. What appears to be a harmless play between two naughty boys of Effiekuma almost turned tragic.

Maxwell has had one of his testicles gouged out by his own friend. How did he do it? The two boys were struggling over a piece of wood, which had at one end a long 6-inch nail which was strategically placed to enable the boys roll over empty cans of milk and Milo tins play objects.

In an attempt to prevent his younger colleague from snatching the stick, teenager Kwesi yanked the stick pushing the nail deep into the scrotum of little Maxwell. He panicked and snapped. In his effort to secure his freedom the inevitable happened. The nail scooped out one of Maxwell’s testicles.

It has been close to a week and little Maxwell is back at home with his parents. Unfortunately he has a sordid story to tell. Maxwell will grow into adulthood with one testicle.