Peletiri Vivian: Narrow escape [Nigerian Voices]

It all started many years ago like 2003 if I can remember. I hardly eat after going through the heat of the kitchen and of course I was faced with the incurable, as they say, disease “ULCER”.

I started feeling some sort of pain inside of me and then followed by a serious healing issue on the inside. It went on and on like staying healthy this year and next minute I’m down with severe ulcer crisis, as I termed it.

So going to the real miracle from ulcer crisis.
I went for a church program which required staying away from home; I went a day before the program started so I could get a nice bed space and also prepare for the outpouring of blessing. Before I forget, I’m very allegic to cold especially when the air is natural. The whole camp was still scanty with the number of people around.

Over the night, there was this great cold plus harmattan. I was wearing like 3 clothes, covered my body with my wrappper but still the cold found its way into my spinal cord and so this pain started so severely that I had to go and visit the welfare department(children) and so I met one of my mom. She gave me some malaria drugs with paracetamol but yet the pain didn’t reduce.

I went back and kept on complaining bitterly so I was given the almighty ibucap of whatever miligram I didn’t know. I am not the drug taking type and so I don’t know names of drugs beside paracetamol and panadol extra which I hardly use.
So, I took this ibucap and then the pain reduced but I started having constipation which lead to the indigestion of the food I had plus the drugs.

I went back to the children welfare to complain and I was asked to stop taking the drugs. But due to the fast relief I was getting from the ibucap, I kept on taking it and then I abused it because in sincerity of heart I forgot to ask how I was supposed to take the drug.

On the third day, I started feeling extremely weak and I notice I was vomitting blood. I called on someone to please help me to the adult welfare but on getting to the outside of my hostel I couldn’t get any car to help. I was weak already and so I lay on the grass then a good Samaritan quickly jumped out of his car and agreed to rush me to the welfare but we couldn’t located the place and so someone advised I was taken to the youth welfare which he quickly did.

On getting there I quickly narrated the whole situation including the vomiting of blood and then showed the doctor the drugs I had been given so he quickly asked, “Are you an ulcer patient”. Quickly I told him no that God has healed me of ulcer a long time ago but he said have you had ulcer before and I said yes that was when I knew there is fire on the mountain.

Immediately, I was given a bed and then injection plus drip so I could sleep. I was then taken to the adult welfare with the help of the youth welfare doctor and so I was given another drug that I should stop every other drugs. Later that day, I was discharged and I went back to the youth welfare and so the doctor said, Vivian if I must be sincere with you. Anyone who has issues like this usually go for surgery because the mr ibucap that I took has done a lot of damage. And he advised I should go to the hospital immediately after camp but due to the cash at hand I went home instead without informing my pastor. He just brought me home and then got me mismag so I could be okay.

So when it was midnight, I started feeling the serious pain and I couldn’t bear the pain anymore. My mum had to call my next neighbor to help with his car but he refused initially when he had my scream from vomitting he had to rush out of his flat and decide to help with his car. On getting to the general hospital, the doctor said there was no bed in the emergency and so he quickly gave me injection right there inside the car and requested am been rushed to LUTH but my neighbor’s car started jacking and said there was no fuel again and it was midnight and so getting fuel was out of it.

I had to quickly call my pastor which him and his wife had to rush to my house around 2am and then I was rushed to the hospital (LUTH). On getting there too, the same story was told that there was no bed and for us to get a bed then we need to pay 50,000 everyday and if I’m to do scan or test above 4,000 then I will pay separately. Where in God’s name was I going to get that urge amount of money? And then all of a sudden, someone came and told my mum that there is an hospital across the road which is Ayisat Specialist Hospital, Idi-araba.

On getting to the hospital that early hour of day, the doctor quickly asked the nurse to assign me a bed without talking about money and when my mum approached him, he said the very first thing is to bring me back to life. All of these I was hearing from a very far distant.

To cut all the story of the pain I went through, I collected over 100 injection for about 10 days, I was urinating blood, stooling blood and sneezing out blood from my nose.

Upon the break of the day, the doctor requested I go for a scan and when I got there, I was going through the diagnostic period when the lab scientist made an exclamation that he could see a very big wound but it wasn’t clear that we need to use a bigger scanner so after everything he said there was perforation in my intestine and also a big wound in my stomach.

So on getting back to the hospital, the doctor said the only solution is to carry out a surgical operation. If you remember the doctor at the camp once said exactly the same thing. In all of this, I was extremely weak and hearing everything from a very far distant while they were standing right by my bedside.

My pastor heard and rejected that the operation is not the only solution and so did my dad said. In the midst of this my mum was already a shadow of herself. Seeing her only child lying on the bed at the verge of loosing it all. My pastor had to call the prayer warriors to set up a praying altar on my behalf and so did a lot of family members and friends. After some hours, the doctor came back and asked if I have a child or married and on getting NO as an answer he sighed and said sorry surgical operation is not the way forward that he will try another alternative which was the drugs and injection I was been administered plus drip.

I had over 100 injections like I said plus all other things. Writing this makes me feel like I was goiing through the pain all over again.

The miracle was all of these was treated within 10 days and I was back on my feet.

I did not write this story basically because of the monetary benefit alone but to let people know that it is important to know your health condition and then be sure you have read all the tiny story written on the leaflet to avoid stories that touch. I am a living testimony today because of God’s timely intervention.


This entry was submitted as part of the Nigerian Voices competition organized by YNaija.com.

We publish, un-edited, Nigerians telling the stories of their everyday lives. Read all the narratives daily on the Nigerian Voices vertical. You can also contribute your own story titled ‘Nigerian Voices’ to [email protected].

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail