Moments: The Journey To South Africa...

Mike's friend, Sule and his wife, Helen, insisted that I should go to their house to shower, change and have lunch before the trip, and Uzoma and Carol went with me. When we got back to the hospital, I went to the ICU to be with Kechi.

The nurses were dressing her wounds, wrapping them up for the flight. This meant that most of her body was covered in bandages. By this time she was crying out loud at the pressure in her hands and wondering for how long she would be able to stand the pain. I was later to know that this swelling was normal for deep tissue burns. The swelling could only be released by making cuts in the skin. The nurses assured her that the pain would go away soon but she kept crying, obviously in a lot of pain. The nurses at Shell hospital were very professional, but very kind and obviously very affected by Kechi's condition. I left knowing that they would be praying for her.

She was transferred from the hospital bed to a stretcher and we started the journey. By the time we got outside, the sedative she was given had started to take effect and she was out. I went into the ambulance with Kechi and Sister Jane, one of the kindest nurses I have ever met. Mike, Brother Amos, Dr. Moses and some other staff of Shell followed in their cars and the procession left for the airport. Jane talked to me all the way to the airport, reassuring me of God's grace and telling me never to stop trusting God.

We got to the airport by 8.30pm. The S.O.S. plane was supposed to arrive at 9.00pm. We waited for about 30 minutes and the plane arrived on schedule.

As soon as the plane taxied to a stop, a doctor and a paramedic disembarked and were met by Dr. Moses and the other doctors from Shell. They immediately came to the ambulance and I left to give them room to work. They set to work on Kechi, started an IV from a vein they located in her chest. After that, they asked for help to load her into the air ambulance, the smallest plane I had ever seen. Inside the plane, there was hardly any space because it was full of equipment one would usually see in a hospital. Kechi was strapped onto a narrow cot and was soon connected to a lot of lines and leads, and instruments began beeping and humming.

I was asked to board and I gave Mike a hug before taking my bag and bible from him. I thanked everyone and boarded the aircraft. There was hardly any space left to sit as there were about three other people apart from the pilot and the doctor and paramedic. I was sitting at the rear of the plane, but the good thing was that Kechi was directly opposite me...

To be continued...

Back To The Story: Still Testifying...

Uzoma arrived at the Shell gate but the security detail would not let her in, so Mike had to go to the gate to explain to them that she was family and she came back to the hospital with them.

Other groups of people came but I had to go outside the gates to meet with them. My boss, Benjamin, came with Chioma, a colleague, and I was pleased because I could tell Benjamin about the trip and how I would need an extended leave.

The brethren from my church group in Aba also came and prayed with me. One of my church members from the Port Harcourt fellowship, Brother Amos, who incidentally was a staff of Shell, had also been contacted and he never left Mike's side throughout that day.

Then we were reminded that we were battling against principalities and powers that were not pleased to see Kechi alive. In order to come inside the Shell compound with Mike, Uzoma had to leave her car outside the gate and so she put the bag she had packed for me, which contained not just my clothes, but also our passports, in George's car. When George left for Aba, he forgot to remove the bag from his car. Communication became impossible, as we could not get through to him. By the time we finally got through, he was already in Aba. This was at 4.00pm, and we were to leave at 8.30pm. He said he would give the bag to Mike's brother, Duru, to bring to Port Harcourt.

Dr. Moses sent for me and told me that there were two people that wanted to see Kechi, and he wanted to make sure we were okay with it. One of them was a high-ranking officer at the Nigeria Airport Authority and the other was the Managing Director of Sosoliso Airlines. I gave my permission. The airport had been closed to all traffic since the disaster and so Dr. Moses told them that the plan was for the air ambulance to land at the Owerri airport, and then we would be transported by helicopter to Owerri and leave from there.

After seeing Kechi, the NAA official told Dr. Moses that here was no need to subject Kechi to all that, the Port Harcourt Airport would be opened for the air ambulance to land and take off!

Dr. Moses was in the hospital monitoring Kechi's progress and making arrangements for our trip throughout that Sunday. He was truly amazing. I felt so safe knowing that he was in charge of Kechi's well being. Our gratitude knew no bounds but each time we tried to express it to him, he told us that we should focus on praying to God for Kechi's life to be spared as she was far from out of the woods.

I think that as a doctor, he knew the gravity of her situation and that so much could still go wrong. All I knew was that Kechi was alive and was going to stay that way. Looking back, I think I was probably in denial as to the extent of her injuries. I just focused on living from one minute to the next, trusting God all the way.

Mike and I went in to tell her about the trip to South Africa and with her usual forthrightness she said, “I don't like the sound of that”. I explained her need for further treatment than could be provided at Shell hospital. She seemed to accept that and asked,” So by the time I wake up, I'll be in South Africa?”

“Yes”, I replied. And she slept off.

To be continued...

Pause The Past For A Bit Of The Present...

There's a good side to every bad story. This is not just a line to make you feel good, but if indeed "...all things work together for the good of them that love God and are called according to His purpose...", then the statement is true.

This statement is so true in the life and story of my family. My daughter, of whom the stories in this space are being told, Kechi Okwuchi, graduated today, 16th May, 2015, from the University of St. Thomas, USA, with a First Class honours, and 7 awards.

This is my story, this is my song, praising my saviour, all the day long...

The Story Continues...

http://abc13.com/society/plane-crash-survivor-overcomes-huge-odds/723230/

The Conversation I Was Dreading To Have With Kechi...

We were then told that Kechi would need to travel with one of us. I quickly said it would have to be me and I was told to get our passports ready and pack a bag.

I called my friend, Uzoma, who had earlier called to say she was about to leave Aba to see us. Luckily, I caught her on her way out and told her to swing by my house and get our passports and pack a small bag for me.

Then we were faced with the issue of funds. It was Sunday morning, all banks were closed. Mike and I had been in Port Harcourt since the previous day and no one had thought about money or any such thing!

By God's grace, one of our friends, Meche, called from Abuja and when he heard about the money problem, he told Mike to call their friend, Kenneth Yellowe, a man who would later play a very critical role in Kechi's recovery process. Kenneth lived in America but was in Port Harcourt for business. Mike called Kenneth, who was horrified that Mike's daughter was one of the victims of the crash. He said he had GBP410.00 on him and Mike was welcome to it.

Mike rushed off to get the money and then Kate, my sister-in- law, also gave me $100.00 and Mike promised to send me more money as soon as he could.

I then went in to see Kechi, and the nurses were cleaning her wounds. She was actually sitting up in bed, and obeying their instructions to lift her hands, bend her leg etc. It was at that point that she asked me, “Mommy, was I the only one that survived?” “Survived what?” I answered carefully, my mind busily sorting out how to answer without distressing her further. “The plane crash” “No”, I said. Then she asked the question I was dreading. “What of my friends, Toke and the rest?”

Toke was one of her best friends and much later when she could recall the plane trip, she remembered that they had been sitting on the same row, across the aisle from each other.

“Toke is fine”, I said. “Everyone is fine”. In my mind I was justifying to myself, 'They are fine in the bosom of the Lord'. But I knew there was no way I could tell Kechi this. Not yet.

My daughter heaved a huge sigh of relief and said, “O, thank You, Jesus. Jesus I love You”.

She drifted off to sleep again...

To be continued...

And God's Plan For Kechi's Restoration Began To Unveil...

The Senior Medical Officer, whose name I now knew to be Dr.

Moses Ohiosimuan had also come in early and had been inside the ICU to see Kechi. He came to where we were and called me aside. He told me that while they were giving Kechi the best care possible, they felt that she would benefit from more specialized care and were thinking that, if we agreed, they wanted to make arrangements to fly her out of the country immediately to a South African hospital. He wanted to know if that was okay with us. I said yes at once, (thinking, are you kidding me?)“Of course it's okay with us.”

He said he would get back to me once he had reported back to the MD of Shell that we were okay with the plan. He then said I should call Mike.

As soon as Mike drove in, I gave him the news and he rushed off to find Dr. Moses. I called Uloma at once and told her of the new development. By this time she was in church and of course Kechi was the main prayer point.

Mike came out looking stunned. I asked him if everything was okay and he said that Dr. Moses was arranging for an air ambulance to fly out from South Africa and pick Kechi and I up. The ambulance will leave within the hour and should be in Nigeria by 8.00pm that night, and we would leave as soon as they landed.

Mike said he told Dr. Moses that he should please go ahead and make the arrangements and he would find a way to pay them back for all the expenses.

That was when Dr. Moses told Mike that Shell was taking full responsibility for all the expenses!

I fell on my knees and began to thank God and to praise His Holy Name.

To be continued...