The day of the accident...
The health workers are mini gods or so I thought after being healed my them. It was a hot afternoon as I trekked joyfully from school, I had just celebrated my ten years birthday in school. Finally ten, I was excited as I walked along the busy road with my friends heading home. Push, screams, knocked down and knocked out. It probably a dream I thought to my self as I opened my eyes to find my tiny self laying on a neatly made bed in a pink painted room, it’s pretty nice I told myself, wow I exclaimed again and again while laying still on my bed, in an attempt to move, I couldn’t feel my legs and my body was numb, okay,nice try, I told my head, You can let me go now, I said to myself but I still couldn’t move.
I started feeling lightheaded and that was all I could remember as I found myself yet again in the same room, I wasn’t sure how long I passed out for, but it was long enough for the doctors and nurses to flood the pink tiny space, I called a room. She is awake, one nurse said, and I was so crossed to see that things still look funny. The doctor started asking me questions, he was like what is your name, I answered, he went ahead to ask for my parents contacts and I gave it to them, immediately, they gave my father a call. Meanwhile, my fellow students who had witnessed the incident, rushed home to inform my sister and the people around where I live.
They told them I had been involved in an accident, they said “a car hit Tj then a motorcycle climbed her legs and the driver carried her away” Jesus! my sister screamed as she could only imagine my state of health at the moment, I could have been kidnapped or worst, I could be dead, my sister called my dad and he immediately rushed back to the shop from work, the whole community headed out to find me, they went from one local hospital to another asking if an accident victim was brought to their clinic, and leaving their phone numbers at each stop with the hope of getting a call from any of them, that such a case had been brought to them.
After so many failed attempts to find me, their frustration grew and that was when the miracle happened, my dad’s phone rang and guess what? The driver responsible for my accident, had called and informed my my dad about my whereabouts. He was so relieved that he thanked everyone and ask them to return to their various houses and he headed to the hospital. There he was informed about how critical my condition was and how I would need a lot of medical attention and care, they went ahead to inform him that my condition was critical and that I sustained an incomplete spinal cord injury and that some part of my body might lose their functions temporarily or permanently depending on the outcome of the test results.
Luckily for me, I did not sustain any other serious injuries besides the minor bruises on my legs and arm, more tests were carried out, several medications were given so I was told since I was unconscious throughout the running up and down. Tears filled my daddy’s eyes as he couldn’t imagine what life would be with me in that state, he prayed and prayed that God grant me perfect healing, he prayed the doctors were wrong and that I would be fine. As at now, it's been eight hours since I was taken from the emergency ward to the intensive care unit where a bed had been prepared for me. Today 13th January, 2010 had been the longest day of my life. As the day ended with me still stuck in the unconscious.
The unconscious...
I sat there for hours watching these people work on my body, I could see my dad looking so sad and pained while he waited in the reception. My mom still unaware of the happenings here at home, continue dancing happily at my uncle’s wedding which she had traveled to attend in Lagos two days earlier with my elder brother. I continued watching her beaming smile with so much attention as if it was the last time I was going to see it again.
I took a stroll through the hospital, from department to department , from ward to ward and from room to room, walking through walls, yes, you heard me right, walking through walls. I saw so many people, some sick, some dying and some caring for them. It made me so sad and I was compelled to pray for as many patients I could. Something funny happened after I left one of the patients room, room 13B I guess, I tripped over something or someone laying on the floor but didn’t fall, since I had this incredible ability to fly, more fascinating than walking through walls, it was amazing, I felt so alive even when I was somewhat dead.
I flew round the ward more than once with great speed and excitement until I remembered the reason I started flying in the first place, I remembered the person I had stumbled upon and rushed back to check on it, to my surprise, it was a girl, a pretty crying girl. Hi I said, my name is Tj, what is your name? She introduced herself as Jane and went on to tell me why she was crying, she said that she went to bed with her family at night only to be woken by a severe heat, her screams were all she could remember before waking up here in the hospital, with no access to the people around her, she realized that she could neither see nor touch the people around her which was fine at first because she thought she was in some sort of dream until and she fell through a wall and that was it, that was the height of it she thought to herself and broke down crying, and that was when I found her.
Stop crying Jane, I encouraged her, we are going to be fine, since I am older than you, I am going to be your big sister and friend until we can both wake up from this dream. But for now, let’s have some fun. With that, we both laughed and started flying from place to place and making fun of everyone and everything till our heart content, we became best friends in no time. It was an adventure as we felt like super humans and were more than ready to take on the world and if care is not taken, take over it in the process.
Before today, before this tragic happening, I was just an ordinary child showered with lots of love, I was loved by my friends and family and even members of my community. My mom had a chemist shop, where she sold drugs, she was also a nurse and took me to the hospital at intervals, but I had never visited the wards, I usually just sit in the administrative block with the health information recorders and just have fun. I had just been promoted to junior class 1, and we were already in the second term, I was a very bright student and came out with first position in my class during our first term examination and I was more than determined to maintain that position throughout my Junior secondary school, but I might not be able to do that, especially now that I am laying still on an hospital bed.
Tj...Tj... Tj... Please come back to us was enough to reunite me with my body and separate me from Jane. But I didn’t leave without assuring her that I would be fine and that she should listen to the voice that calls her name and follow it home.
This is the first part of my dreemport challenge in collaboration with the Scholars and scribes community. You can find the details of the challenge here.