Dr. Ada Igonoh was one of the Doctors at First Consultants Hospital, where the index Ebola case in Nigeria Patrick Sawyer was treated and died.
She treated Sawyer, found him dead and not surprisingly contracted the deadly Ebola virus from him…but her story is different because she survived.
She was one of the survivors hosted by Governor Fashola on Friday. continue after the cut...
- Information is powerful, being rightly informed saves lives. While on her bed at the Isolation ward, she engaged her iPad for the right reasons. Rather than play games on the iPad or upload photos of the ‘sorry’ state of the quarantine ward on social media”, like some fellas would do, she rightly engaged it to stay informed and alive!
Hear her”
“My Pastor asked me to do my
research on Ebola since I had my iPad with me and told me that he was also
doing his study. He wanted us to use all relevant information on Ebola to our
advantage. So I researched and found out all I could about the strange disease
that has been in existence for 38 years. My research, my faith, my positive
view of life, the extended times of prayer, study and listening to encouraging
messages boosted my belief that I would survive the Ebola scourge.
There are five strains of the virus
and the deadliest of them is the Zaire strain, which was what I had. But that
did not matter. I believed I would overcome even the deadliest of strains.
Infected patients who succumb to the disease usually die between 6 to 16 days
after the onset of the disease from multiple organ failure and shock caused by
dehydration. I was counting the days and keeping myself well hydrated. I didn’t
intend to die in that ward.
My research gave me ammunition. I
read that as soon as the virus gets into the body, it begins to replicate
really fast. It enters the blood cells, destroys them and uses those same blood
cells to aggressively invade other organs where they further multiply. Ideally,
the body’s immune system should immediately mount up a response by producing
antibodies to fight the virus. If the person is strong enough, and that
strength is sustained long enough for the immune system to kill off the
viruses, the patient is likely to survive. If the virus replicates faster than
the antibodies can handle however, further damage is done to the organs. Ebola
can be likened to a multi-level, multi-organ attack but I had no intention of
letting the deadly virus destroy my system. I drank more ORS. I remember saying
to myself repeatedly, “I am a survivor, I am a survivor.”
I also found out that a patient with
Ebola cannot be re-infected and they cannot relapse back into the disease as
there is some immunity conferred on survivors.”
- Faith. Winning (or losing) starts from the mind. When she was told she had Ebola, yes she was completely disoriented at first, it felt like she had been given a death sentence but she believed she would survive.
“He said to me, “I have to inform
you that your blood tested positive for Ebola. I am sorry.” I had no reaction.
I think I must have been in shock. He then told me to open my mouth and he
looked at my tongue.
He said it was the typical Ebola
tongue. I took out my mirror from my bag and took a look and I was shocked at
what I saw. My whole tongue had a white coating, looked furry and had a long,
deep ridge right in the middle. I then started to look at my whole body,
searching for Ebola rashes and other signs as we had been recently instructed.
I called my mother immediately
and said, “Mummy, they said I have Ebola, but don’t worry, I will survive it.” What she told her mum on phone while she was wheeled
to the isolation center showed a person that had greater chances of surviving.
Also, “None of us in the
isolation ward was given any experimental drugs or so-called immune boosters. I
believed that even if the mortality rate was 99%, I would be part of the 1% who
survive.”
- She surrounded herself with the right people: The people around Dr. Igonoh were awesome! Her Pastor, mother, husband, Friends kept praying and keeping in touch. etc. They encouraged her all the way through.
“My pastor, who also happens to be a
medical doctor, encouraged me to monitor how many times I had stooled and
vomited each day and how many bottles of ORS I had consumed. We would then
discuss the disease and pray together…I knew countless numbers of people were
praying for me.
Prayer meetings were being held on my behalf. My family was praying day and night. Text messages of prayers flooded my
phones from family members and friends. I was encouraged to press on. With the
encouragement I was receiving I began to encourage the others in the ward. We
decided to speak life and focus on the positive.”
- Maintaining a Balance in Life, she balanced prayer and medication. She didn’t focus more on one aspect to the detriment of the other.
“I drank the ORS fluid like my
life depended on it…and I continued listening to my healing messages. They gave
me life. I literarily played them hours on end. This was a battle for my life
but I was determined I would not die. Every morning, I began the day with
reading and meditating on Psalm 91. My research, my faith, my positive view of
life, the extended times of prayer, study and listening to encouraging messages
boosted my belief that I would survive the Ebola scourge. I was full of faith
yet pragmatic enough to consume as much ORS as I could even when I wanted to
give up and throw the bottles away.
- Staying independent: Learn to survive on your own even when everyone else stays away.
“The sanitary condition in the ward
left much to be desired. The whole Ebola thing had caught everyone by surprise.
Lagos State Ministry of Health was doing its best to contain the situation but
competent hands were few.
The sheets were not changed
for days. The floor was stained with greenish vomitus and excrement. Dr. David
would come in once or twice a day and help clean up the ward after chatting
with us. He was the only doctor who attended to us. There was no one else at
that time. The matrons would leave our food outside the door; we had to go get
the food ourselves. They hardly entered in the initial days. Everyone was being
careful. This was all so new.
I could understand, was this not how
we ourselves had contracted the disease? Mosquitoes were our roommates until
they brought us mosquito nets.” But
she survived!
- Gratitude. She is still grateful heart to the government: Despite the sorry state of the first isolation ward, she still had the heart to forgive and be grateful to the state government, rather than criticize like several others would.
“I especially thank the volunteer
Nigerian doctors, matrons and cleaners who risked their lives to take care of
us. I must also commend the Lagos State government, and the state and federal
ministries of health for their swift efforts to contain the virus.
- God is supreme: No one can question God on why lets some people die while others live.
“I don’t claim to have all the
answers to the nagging questions of life. Why do some die and some survive? Why
do bad things happen to good people? Where is God in the midst of pain and
suffering? Where does science end and God begin? These are issues we may never
fully comprehend on this side of eternity. All I know is that I walked through
the valley of the shadow of death and came out unscathed.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Some may say her survival story is
pure luck or coincidence; others may call it a miracle. Whatever the case may
be, it’s nothing short of inspiring.
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