Loveth Sunday, a 27-year-old indigene of Anambra State, tells how her life changed after she was struck down by a bus three weeks after her introduction ceremony, became an amputee and her fiancé abandoned her
Where are you from?
I am from Oraifite, Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State.
What are you?
I am a hairdresser yet I sell perfume.
You were spotted dancing in a video despite though you are physically handicapped. What happened to your leg?
I had an accident that was deadly. It was a deadly accident, since it involved the taking of two lives.
How did the accident occur?
I was standing on the roadside when a bus with a brake failure knocked me down. The bus went off the road and hit three passengers, me included. I survived, two people died. It all happened so fast I didn’t notice the bus coming at me.
What did you do after the automobile hit you?
I was brought to the hospital by sympathisers who were around the scene of the accident and I was in coma for five days. I was brought to the nearest hospital but the medical workers turned me away.
The same thing happened in the second hospital where the sympathisers took me. I was turned down by five hospitals. I was taken care of at the sixth hospital.
When did the accident occur?
It happened on April 12, 2019, at the front of Oraifite Police Station. I was heading to Onitsha to buy one or two things for one of my siblings.
Were your parents or any of your relatives there in the hospital when you were admitted after the accident?
Yeah, my folks were there. They were devastated. They feared I wasn’t going to make it, with the way my leg was. The accident was so horrible that if anybody saw me that day they would assume I was going to die. But thank God that I am still alive.
What did the doctor tell you when you regained consciousness in the hospital?
The doctor said the legs had to be amputated, but God had other ideas. I woke up in the hospital I was taken to. Then I saw what occurred The hospital said the limb was injured and they wouldn’t be able to heal it.
Later, they referred me to another hospital at Ojoto, Anambra State. It is known as Orthopaedic Hospital Uzondu. We went straight to the hospital, the doctor came down, checked me and told me the leg was dead and had to come off. I felt really horrible. I was so afraid and I started thinking I wouldn’t make it.
What did your parents say when the doctor told them that you would have to have an amputation?
My parents did not agree with the doctor as the whole thing was a shock to them. The doctor warned if they denied the approval of the amputation of my leg, the bacteria in my leg, which was causing decay of my left leg, may go to my heart and could cause major harm which could lead to death.
The doctor told me clearly that if it reached that level I might not make it. My parents wanted me to survive, but when they heard my leg was to be removed, they were afraid.
They thought I was gonna die so… That is why they were against it in the first place. But after all the medical process, they were thrilled that I was still alive.
Did subsequently your parents give permission for your leg to be amputated?
“No, they’d never go for that. But when they did not support the amputation of my left leg and stood their ground, the doctor convinced me to do it (let my leg to be amputated so that I can remain living).
The doctor tells me: if I survive, it is my life; if I don’t survive, it is still my life.
What was paid for the cost of treating you after the accident?
At the time, we were ordered to lodge N350,000. After that, with the expenses in the hospital, the sum of N2.5m had already been spent.
You had a prosthesis in one of your web videos. Do you have it?
Yes, I got one for myself but had problems with the foot later. That’s why I had to go back to using crutches. I need a prosthetic now. I’ve had folks trying to help me ask me if I’ve heard of a prosthetic right now. I told you I would.
Somebody also told me to take the measurement of my leg and send him the measurement. I’ve done that and submitted it to the guy. I am waiting yet, and hoping in God. Then a man said to go to a tailor who would take my measurements from the waist to the foot.
Do you know how much a good prosthesis costs that can help you work without much difficulty?
I was told that there are many types of prosthesis and they cost different amounts of money. There’s one they say I can handle. It will assist me walk. “I was told it costs N850,000. Another one they stated I would be free with. One is N1.5m, I was told.
Then there’s another one with silicone where I can do everything I want to do. One is N2.5m, they stated. I am believing God that one day I will be able to acquire it so that I can walk without hindrance.
How have your parents been helping you financially?
My parents don’t have much money.
You mentioned you held an introduction ceremony and the accident happened in two weeks.
Yeah, the induction ceremony was March 23, then I had an accident April 12, 2019.
So, what did your husband say about your accident?
When he was first called, he came to the hospital. He stopped calling after he left, he stopped checking on me and that was the end of the relationship.
Have you tried to contact him?
Yes, I did. But he told me he cannot continue with the connection.
You mean he chose to take a step back from the relationship?
Yes, he told me that when I was still in the hospital. He indicated he wasn’t interested in marrying me anymore.
How did you feel at that time?
(Sighs) Thank God I didn’t give up or die, I needed him to encourage me, not the other way around. but i thank God, i encouraged myself with the belief in God that things will surely get better.
Were your pals there to see you in the hospital?
But they came to me not all are with me now. Some of them are with me, some departed because of my situation. First, I was sorry my fiance left me. It hurts too because my best friend never came to visit me in the hospital.
To date my best friend has not checked up on me. But all thanks to Almighty God, because it definitely exposed the kind of people I was working with in the past.
Do you have any brothers or sisters? If so, how many?
I have brothers and sisters. Seven of them.
Have you received any financial assistance since the accident?
They don’t have money actually but they still support me in other ways. I am from a modest background.
What place do you hold in the family?
I am the fifth kid of the family but the first daughter.
What type of support can you get that can give you succour urgently?
I need a prosthesis and money for my business because that is where I get money to go for my medical check up and food. Sometimes my parents don’t have enough and they may want me to help the family to solve one or two problems through the modest company
EDUCATION What is your level of education?
After secondary school, I wrote the UTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination) and I secured admission into the Anambra State University, Uli. There was no money, alas. That’s why I went to learn a trade, which is women’s hair styling.
Did you have any feeling whatsoever that you were about to be in an accident?
Yes I dreamt I was in an accident but I did not take it seriously. I imagined that I had an accident at the front of the same Oraifite Police Station where I was knocked down by a bus in real life.
I was under a bus in that dream. So I woke up and I prayed. I told no one anything. Then I dreamed I saw my obituary posters. And like I mentioned before, I didn’t tell anybody but I prayed over it.
If a man comes to ask for your hand in marriage will you be ready to start another relationship?
I have given up any relationship in the future, but I have male and female friends that come and encourage me.
And what about the driver that ran you over? Did he make amends to the family in any way?
He paid no damages. The driver never even came to the hospital, his brother came there.” He came with some people and when my dad started talking to them, they brought N50,000. But in the end, we spent N2.5m for treatment.
They said they have sold their land already to undertake the burial of two females who perished in the catastrophe.
When I started shouting at the driver’s brother, he said, ‘I guess you want to get married, let me marry you then.’ So my brothers urged them to get up and go. They didn’t bring any other money other from the N50,000 they brought.
The doctor informed them they were wrong to have laughed at me. “They cost me my marriage and a leg,” remarked the doctor.
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