December 10, 2005: God Was Still At Work. The Signs Were Too Obvious To Ignore...

A tall, dark and slim, well-dressed woman approached me and introduced herself as the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health. She told me that they were making plans to move Kechi to Shell Hospital, and I thanked her profusely.

The Consultant at the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital was on the phone with Shell and soon concluded arrangements to move Kechi. The doctors continued to work on Kechi, even after the ambulance from Shell arrived, trying to stabilize her before moving her. She was then wheeled outside. I remember that there were so many people crowded at the hospital entrance. It was when some people started to take pictures that I realized that they were the press and sure enough, a picture of Kechi lying on the gurney soon made headlines everywhere. 

She was transferred to the ambulance and we all took off for Shell Hospital, accompanied by one of the doctors from BMH.

After a very fast ride, we arrived at the Shell Hospital and Kechi was whisked off to the emergency room. One of the drivers on duty was sent off to fetch the doctor on duty and Mike asked to go with him. Meanwhile, the staff on duty started work on Kechi. We were asked to wait outside and soon after, the Senior Medical Officer of Shell Hospital arrived. 

I did not know it then, but this man was going to be instrumental in laying the foundations of Kechi's future. He went inside the emergency room and after some time, came out with the doctor from BMH. They talked a bit and then the other doctor took leave of us. I hugged him and thanked him for all he had done for Kechi. He said that Kechi's life fully depended on God at this point and he would pray for her. By this time, Mike was back with the doctor on call, whom I remember was a Dutchman.

I asked to see Kechi and they allowed me in. She had been given drugs for the pain and more IV lines were attached. There was concern about her urine, which was still very dark in color, indicating possible renal failure, a major concern in such extreme burn cases as Kechi's. After a while, the urine started to clear up. 

We waited outside, praying, while they worked on Kechi. She, at every point in the procedure, was co-operating with the medical team, lifting her limbs when told to and so on. They were very impressed with her and kept saying how strong she was...

To be continued...