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.
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!
For more click on Help Mr. Ikechukwu Obiora
God bless as you help!
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