My Letter To Those Brought In Dead and The Living, by Loretta Oduware Ogboro-Okor

Good day to you all, my dear people. It is with a heavy heart that I write us this letter which I hope meets us well. 

I write so that we can please be clear. Our Elegant Stallion and Nigerian National Treasure, Onyeka Onwenu did not die at the hospital. Rather, she was BID – brought in dead to the hospital. 

These are two very different things. They connote varied implications and carry reflective messages of value. I will attempt to explain.

As my explanation unfolds, l will earnestly plead that we pay ATTENTION to our bodies.  What is your body saying???

That headache you have been ignoring… see your doctor.

That shoulder tip pain you think is nothing… see your General Practitioner.

That calf pain in you left or right leg that comes and goes… please go to the hospital.

Are you pregnant? Then those little stars floating in front of your eyes… means you must run into the nearest proper hospital not a chemist shop.

That cough at night that wakes you up??? Why is it so? It may not be the enemies of your father’s house waking you up with their black magic every night ooo…. my dear brother or sister, please delay no more. See your healthcare provider today. The cause could range from allergy to dust mites in your room or pollen in your garden or maybe sleep apnoea or early signs of heart failure. When you climb up the stairs these days or you play football or you hover or you have sex, why is your chest so tight/you become very short of breath?  Speak out… get help… see the experts. Seek knowledge. Furthermore, those with knowledge or policy makers… why are we not speaking? How expensive can awareness be anyway? 

Even more important is when we have background diseases of choice or what some tag lifestyle related disorders such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Since these are multi-system disorders that can affect every single organ in our bodies, keeping a tight rein on management of these background conditions if we have them, and keeping our eyes peeled like bananas for any new or unusual feeling/pain/change in wee pattern/change in pooh pattern or colour/new persistent cough / anything not quite right with us, is imperative. Oh yes… inspect that toilet after you use it and before you flush. It could save your life.

So, back to being BID versus making it to the hospital, especially where it was a group of elites gathered who we will assume and who I have been told, acted quickly.  When it is BID… it means it was something very massive and catastrophic.  It is no respecter of persons or status. It means there may have been little symptoms or signs not particularly paid heed to. On the flip side, it could portend there may have been no warning at all. Except maybe we were investigating something else or a check-up, and possibly on special scans, to find what we did not know.  So, think about it… in such cases, a moderated lifestyle and a proper management of any background illness plus God and prayers, is key. Hospitals can do nothing. 

Whereas, making it into hospital means the event may not have been as massive / catastrophic.  Or the person has been chronically unwell, and the body physiology has adapted to the illness. Or the person was swift enough to say… something is wrong… move me to hospital, plus God and prayers, is key. Hospitals can then attempt to do something.

So, in both cases, the initial attention, speed of intervention, how the person is even transported and having someone nearby with their background medical history as well as God and prayers matters. 

So, to sum up the long story I have attempted to explain above; in BID, even the best hospital in the world CANNOT help. However, an optimal HEALTHCARE SYSTEM with value for human life, could save the day and prevent BIDs of course, never forget God and prayers.

Ladies and gentlemen, I therefore posit that in these scenarios, God and prayer is a constant duo and we, as men and women are left to manage the variables highlighted. Now ask me… where does Nigeria as it is today, with our 133 million plus multi-dimensionally poor; where do we stand in this BID matter? Does it not appear with the evidence we see every day that we have made our variables constant and our constant variables? How many Onyeka`s are in the community that we knew, we know, and we will know nothing about… 

Are you thinking? Am I am thinking? ARE we thinking? Should we take very miniscule action we can? Or should we keepthinking? #thenigerianpatientsareworthit

RiPOnyekaOnwenu, our elegant stallion as you gallivant to Zion.  

Yours faithfully,

Dr Loretta Oduware Ogboro-Okor, Former Edo State Governorship Aspirant and Author of the book, My Father’s Daughter