This is an appeal for help. The story tells of the grace of God and the endurance of love between a man and a woman. I was privileged to witness both aspects as it played out in Garki Hospital, Abuja.
Death Number One
Mr. Ikechukwu Obiora was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed. He was unconscious, desperate and dying. He had suffered a stroke and had rivers of blood inside his brain. After the emergency brain scan, we rushed him into the theatre and put two drains in his head to remove blood clots. This released the massive pressure on his brain. However, he remained unconscious, dead to the world and had to be transferred to the intensive care unit for a machine to breathe for him. We intubated him by passing a tube through the mouth, the neck, his throat and into the lungs. This helped him breathe and so sustained his life.
Continue..
Death Number Two
After about 10 days in the intensive unit, we decided to drill a hole directly in his throat (tracheostomy) to help him breathe. This helps us in cleaning the chest and reduces the work of breathing in patients who cannot breathe well by themselves. On removing the tube at what we thought was a safe period, he deteriorated immediately and died in his bed. He could not breathe, as his throat had swollen shut and cut off air going into the lungs. We rushed to resuscitate him, keep him alive and then secured the tube back into his lungs with great difficulty. Luckily, he rallied round and survived this second ordeal.
Death Number Three
Part of the management of this type of stroke is to shrink the brain, thus reducing the pressure inside the skull. We use a drug called Mannitol. This is a type of sugar which draws water out of the brain to reduce swelling. The same drug is removed through the kidneys, and in large doses can damage the kidneys. Well, that is exactly what happened!
His kidneys packed up and stopped removing dirty, poisonous waste from his body. The waste was killing him, again! He became swollen like the famous Michelin man, full of water and waste that the body could not get rid of. Thus, we had another major problem to fix. This required dialysis. Dialysis is the means of using machines to clean the blood and remove the poisonous waste products from our body. Ikechukwu had dialysis every week for months till his kidneys recovered sufficiently to do the job themselves.
Yet he lives!
It was obvious that God has a major plan for Mr. Obiora. He survived death on three occasions and today lives to tell the tale. Well, not really. He does not remember these most trying times. The single rock of support and his historian (the person who knows what he went through) is his wife. She stood by him through thick and thin till today. She supported him day and night and suffered through the agonies, his trials and tribulations, deaths and life! That is everlasting love. The kind of love you and I pray for.
Mr. Obiora needs your help
We have tried and successfully saved him from death. But this came at great cost. All the care was carried out by the hospital and the family currently owes over N5m (five million Naira). The hospital has reduced his bills substantially. The National Evangelical Mission and the Ministry of Niger Delta have also helped. I waived my fees for his care.
He needs to go home and resume his life from where he left off. But Ikechukwu will continue to be poor, broke and broken without your help. Please, help to support Mr. Obiora by donating some money to offset his huge bills at the hospital. The Obiora account is as detailed below:
Name: Marius Ikechukwu Obiora
Bank: Diamond Bank
Account details: 001867568
Or,
Name: Marius Ikechukwu Obiora
Bank: Zenith Bank
Account details: 2009823354
Stroke is common in Nigeria
Stroke is a devastating illness and kills Nigerians daily. We are not managing stroke well at all and so prevention is better than cure. The most important information for you is to prevent stroke or else open a stroke account where you can save money should you suffer a stroke! So, please look after your blood pressure, control diabetes, stop smoking, lose weight, exercise and keep fit.
Stroke awareness advocacy
October is Stroke Awareness month; so, if you appreciate this article, please support Stroke Action, Nigeria in any way you can. Share the article, engage with friends, family and call us for other ways you can help our advocacy, especially with donations. Call Florence on 08189999902 or email me today!
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