A tragic fall

‘A tragic fall’

She fell from her school’s veranda while waving to the late governor of Ondo state, Chief Adebayo Adefarati and sustained a spinal cord injury. Taiwo Abiodun met Kudirat Rafiu who is keeping her hope alive

She was met reading a passage from the Holy Bible she held in her hand . As she finished reading the last sentence, she raised up her head and sighted this reporter with two other visitors in her one room apartment and then threw barrage of questions ‘’Can I really walk again ? Can I get any help from Lagos or Abuja where kind-hearted people do render help? Can you introduce me to Pastor Adeboye or TB Joshua to sponsor my education and pray for me ? Can you link me up with our governor Dr.Olusegun Mimiko ?or any of the pharmaceutical companies in Lagos sponsor my university education and I am ready to sign a bond to work for them after the completion of my course because I don’t want to be wasted ’’. She paused and then looked at her legs then hissed as she shook her head.
‘’I went to school to learn and never thought of this condition , and I have found myself in this unpredictable mess . Will I be in this situation forever ? All my classmates have graduated but here I am battling with life which has been cruel to me’’.
Torrent of teardrops rolled down her cheeks. She then buried her head in the Bible she was reading, while two people, who led this reporter there too burst into tears.
Yes, she has the beauty, and she is brilliant an attribute which was attested to by many people who know her. Her academic result too indicated this. While on the wheelchair she made all her credits in WAEC and she scored 219 in the just released JAMB result. She said she is sure she will pass the post JAMB. She told The Nation.
’’I am preparing for the post JAMB examination and I am sure that I will pass it in Jesus name. But who will sponsor my university education if I pass? , she asked and burst into tears again .
Miss Kudirat Rafiu was not born a cripple . While in secondary school she was good in science subjects. Her dream was to become a medical doctor but her hope was dashed when she ended up in a wheelchair.
At the age of 15 in 2003 she was already in Senior secondary school three[SS3] preparing for her final examination at St Louis Grammar School, Owo, Ondo state. Tragedy struck when she , along with other three students namely ;Joke Alade, Blessing Mayowa , Seun Raimot and herself stood by the school’s balcony waving to the governor who came to the town to campaign . As they all leaned on the balcony , it suddenly gave way, and collapsed while they all fell from one storey building to the ground .That was the beginning of her predicament .
Her three other school mates also sustained injuries but minor She said they were later taken to St Louis Catholic Hospital , Owo where we were treated but while the three others were treated for minor injury she was referred to University Teaching Hospital , Ile –Ife, in Osun state .and that was the beginning of her problem.’’
According to Kudirat, her parents could not continue to pay the hospital bill especially when they were told to do series of tests ‘’After spending one month in the hospital and we could not pay again for series of tests we were asked to do and no money to buy drugs and other things we then resolved to come back home. My father did not care , though she had abandoned my mother since 1991 and it is our mother who had been taking care of us. My father was a butcher while my mother was a cashier in Multi purpose Cooperative Society but in the process of looking for solution to my health problem she lost her job.
Rafiu’s mother did not only lost her job but also lost her second child, next to Rafiu because according to her ‘’my sister was a victim of sickle cell anaemia and my mother had no enough time to take care of her at all because of me , later she gave up the ghost‘’.
Rafiu was in bed at home for almost eight years after leaving the hospital trying to find solution to her problem in a locally. She had no money to buy a wheel chair to move around as the thought of having a wheelchair never occurred to her since her parents could not afford one . ‘’I used to crawl to the kitchen, veranda to have a glimpse of what is going on , in fact I crawled on my belly like a snake, one day I slept off when I was tired not knowing that it would rain and I woke up to find myself at 2am soaked with water in the veranda I slept ,When I woke up I cried and cried ,I even caught cold. Rescue came when the wife of the former governor Dr.Olusegun Agagu donated wheelchairs to spinal cord victims in Ondo state, and I was given one,
‘’ I used to stay in bed throughout while my mother would carry me crying that she never expected my life to turn to this but I too used to console her.Again in the corner of my room when I am alone I would cry to God that it should be a dream each time I woke up it is reality. I cursed the day I went to wave. I cursed the day I went to school. I cursed the day I ever attempted to have a glimpse at the governor and I have been counselling a lot of people that they should learn from my predicament as I am left alone in my own world licking my wound’’.
However , in order to fulfil her ambition , she enrolled for NECO and passed her nine subjects at credit level but she said she can no longer go for medicine as the course required going ups and down so she wants to do Pharmacy if admitted.
‘’You can see , I have good result that qualifies me to do medicine but I will go for pharmacy since it is also related to medicine.’’
But has she been seeing her friends and classmate that had accident together with? She responded with a smile that she used to see them once in a while. ’’I remember we were four in number who had accident and I remember very well two of them had finished from the university while one is still in Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Akoko, Ondo state, They did not abandon me as they come here once in a while to see me.
Asked whether the late Adefarati was aware of the incident , Rafiu could not quickly answer as she kept her silence for a short while then shook her head and again wiped the tears from her cheeks . ‘’ I made all efforts to see the late governor but all were futile as I had no access to him till he died ‘’
Rafiu’s mother described her daughter’s condition as pathetic, she said ‘’I sent my daughter to boarding school so that she could have discipline .If I had known that this is what will result to I would not have sent her to boarding at all. The teachers then tried his best with the principal
She explained further that her daughter did not complete the treatment at the Teaching Hospital , Ile- Ife due to financial problem. She said ’’she was subjected to series of medical tests but when we could not continue to pay for the tests, bed space and food we decided to come back home and settle with the local bone setters. But here we are. I still believe she will still walk one day as we were advised to take her to India for surgery, some medical doctors said she can still make it since she has feelings in her legs’’
But has she any suitors? , the lady said though she is not a virgin but she has not seen any serious man in her life , above all , she said her health and her studies are more important now than marriage. While her mother says she is ready for a man who wishes to marry her and take care of her ,’’I will be happy if a man that has the fear of God takes her as a wife .I cannot pray for my daughter to experience the hardship I am going through .Imagine , I lost two children out of four , now I have two remaining while one is on the wheelchair the other is still in secondary school.’’