Life With Tutu

It was the year 2014, I had only recently been inducted in the Medical and Dental council of Nigeria. Naso e happen. We heard people were dying of a strange disease in Liberia, Sierra Leone, it was Ebola. Eventually, what we feared most happened, Patrick Sawyer brought the disease with him to Nigeria. 🙆🏽‍♂️ I was told there was going to be a meeting that day to determine our Ebola response. At the end of the meeting, we concluded that to better help Lagosians and Nigerians, we needed data. Data on what Nigerians know about Ebola, how they were likely to respond, attitude and practice. Nigeria had never experienced anything like this before. Worse still, the incidence was in Lagos, the nation's commercial capital. While government was figuring out what to do, I decided to volunteer in any way possible to help my country. Naso, I go Yaba- Infectious Disease Hospital aka IDH. Quickly the senior colleagues drafted an expansive questionnaire and divided volunteers into teams of 2 to g

I dressed carefully for the meeting with my estranged husband. If I’m going down let me do so with some dignity. What I did was bad, but fear was the key. What is the  essence of marriage anyways, is it not forgiveness and forgiving? The door bell rang at some minutes past two pm. I opened the door and came face to face with my soon to be, ex husband. He had lost weight, he looked a bit haggard. My heart went out to him. His look suggested he still cared, somehow. We sat down in silence. The silence stretched for minutes. I kept stealing glances at him, but he looked slightly bored. He cleared his throat. ‘ I’m here now, Keji. What do you have to say?’ I looked at him with a wealth of remorse and love in my eyes ‘ I am sorry for lying to you. I was scared to lose you. Many guys had come and gone because of my condition. Please forgive me. I am so very sorry. I don’t want to lose you.’ I didn’t know when tears started dripping from my eyes. I pleaded with him from the depth of my heart.

We were married, at long last! I was so excited on my wedding day , I prayed I wouldn’t have crises. Sometimes anxiety, excitement, heightened emotions can bring it about. Thankfully, my fear did not materialise. I danced and danced. No one knew I could dance that well. My happiness brought it out of me. I was so happy I couldn’t eat through out the day. Three days after my wedding, I had crises. I woke up my body intertwined with my husband’s to terrible back pains. I started groaning. My husband woke up to the groaning. He was alarmed ‘ hospital…hospital’ I managed to mutter He kept asking me what was wrong. The poor man was clueless. We got to the hospital. The doctor just took one glance at me and ordered I be admitted. Hubby carried me into the ward. I was on admission for three days. As soon as hubby ushered me back from the hospital ‘ Why didn’t you tell me you have Sickle Cell Anaemia?’ I looked everywhere but at him. I bit my lower lip in despair, tears rolling down my