A young Nigerian studying in India recounts how she was managed for the same ailment in Nigeria and India LAGOS, NIGERIA. It was a beautiful and bright morning of a weekday which promised a good day ahead, with my mum and dad off to work and just grandma at home, I began to take care of the chores. Half way done and thinking about what I was going to do with my day, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach but brushed it off after a while thinking it was owing to the fact that I hadn't eaten anything that morning. I continued with my chores when the pain came back again only this time worse than the first and then another in quick succession, it was piercing, painful and highly disturbing,
I could hardly stand straight and not wanting to alert or disturb my grandma, I slouched into my room to lay down like I always did every time I had the pain but this time, it wasn't like any other time. I found myself rolling on my bed and couldn't stay still because it only made it worse yet trashing about didn't make it any better. It was terrible. My grandma who must have heard my moans came rushing into my room to see what was wrong. She sat by my side trying to calm me down while she gave me some medicinal herbs to drink which were supposed to help with the pain and they did, well, only for a few minutes before it came back harder. After a few more trials and error we had to call my mother and she got home as quickly as she could. Seeing the awful situation I was in, she decided it was time for the hospital.
We got to the Ikorodu General Hospital in a matter of minutes, still in pain, I was helped out of the car by my mum as she half dragged and half carried me into the hospital. Mine was an emergency case that needed urgent attention but unfortunately for me it was during the period when doctors were being queried for going on a warning strike without informing higher authorities so at the end of the day there was no one to attend to me. The thought of having to endure for more time was horrific to me. Alone and clutching my stomach, I saw my mum asking around for any doctor just someone to check on me.
Finally my mother found a nurse chatting away with her colleagues. Mum dragged me again into the room and the nurse graciously agreed to help. She asked what was wrong and my mum answered for me that I had stomach pains. She looked at me with so much scorn and asked my mother bluntly if it wasn't a case of abortion, I was shocked.
Disregarding my case, she asked us to go outside to wait again while she resumed her very important chat. Again, mum went in search of anyone that could attend to me. Just as I was about giving up on receiving any treatment at that hospital, a friendly nurse came along with my mum, took me into a ward and eventually a doctor came in to see me. He asked a few questions, diagnosed me with ulcer and recommended some drugs to help with the pain, all the while complaining about how he wasn't supposed to be working. Poking me several times before finally finding the "vein" a drip was set up for me and I was admitted. At the end of the day, a day that started out to be fulfilling turned out to be one of my worst experiences in the hospital.
KARNATAKA, INDIA: I remember it was very early in the morning, my alarm had not yet rung, my roommate was still asleep and everywhere was quiet when I woke up with an unusual feeling in my stomach. Stomach aches were something I was used to so I propped myself into a sitting position on my bed and sat up for a few minutes. Unsatisfied, I shifted to my reading table and put my head on the desk trying to wait for the pain to subside but it didn't.
I popped some painkillers into my mouth and waited for it to take effect but that didn't work either and it only seemed to heighten the pain. This time my mother wasn't here with me and I was in a foreign land and it was too early to alert anyone. I was determined to make the pain go away. Somehow I returned to my reading table but it became unbearable and I started to turn in my seat, putting my head on the desk and raising it the next minute, I was restless. I knew there was no way I could attend classes that day, It was obvious I was going to be in all day with the way the pain was going.
After about an hour, my roommate woke up to find me in so much pain and immediately, she alerted the warden who called an ambulance. It was in front of my hostel in a jiffy and a stretcher was brought up to take me downstairs and straight to the hospital.
At the hospital, I was wheeled in by some nurses and into a ward and immediately they commenced treatment. The doctor ordered for some tests and within a short time relief came. The pain finally subsided. I was allowed to rest and after a while when the doctors were sure I was fine, I was discharged.
Somehow, this brought back the memories of my experience at the Ikorodu General Hospital. No one had to go in search of a doctor or nurse to attend to me. There was no guess work before diagnosis so I was spared the embarrassment that I'd carried out an abortion. The treatment was prompt and the health workers showed love and care. The difference was clear. God bless Nigeria.
National Mirror