This Man Died Three Times, and Woke Up Three Times

Mr. Ikechukwu Obiorah is the mystery man Abuja Metro found and listened to his rare tale of getting used to making a toy of death so many times. Maybe, the death track and back to life must have become a familiar road to Obiorah that he might be one of the few that are immuned to the dread and awe human beings attach to death. 

Death number one

As he came down with severe stroke, HE had rivers of blood inside his brain and was already out with little breath. He needed an emergency operation, which they could not afford. Fortunately, a doctor at the Garki Hospital, Dr. Biodun, was touched and signed an undertaking for the family.

After the emergency brain scan, he was rushed into the theatre where two drains channels were put in his head to remove blood clots. Tubes were passed through his neck to enable him stay alive as he could not breath and his teeth were clenched. He was literary dead to the world.

According to the doctor, Biodun Ogungbo: “After the emergency brain scan, we rushed him into the theatre and put two drains in his head to remove blood clots.

This released the massive pressure on his brain. However, he remained unconscious, dead to the world and had to be transferred to the intensive care unit for a machine to breath for him. We intubated him by passing a tube through the mouth, the neck, his throat and into the lungs. This helped him breath and so sustained his life.”

Death number two

After ten days when the doctors decided to remove the tube thinking it was safe then, he died immediately.

“After about ten days we decided to drill a hole directly in his throat, (tracheostomy) to help him breathe. This helps us in in cleaning the chest and reduces the work of breathing in patients who cannot breathe well by themselves. On removing the tube at what we thought was a safe period, he deteriorated immediately and died in his bed. He could not breathe as his throat had swollen shut and cut off air going into the lungs.

We rushed to resuscitate him, keep him alive and then secured the tube back into his lungs with great difficulty. Luckily, he rallied round and survived this second ordeal,” said the doctor.

Death number three

According to the wife, he died on his own later on, after the two ordeals he had survived. He was already being moved into the mortuary as she was wailing and begging the doctor to do something because she still believed the husband was not dead even though it was clear he was.

According to her, two weeks before the third death, the doctors called her during their meeting and told her that anything can happen now, as they have tried all they could medically and his condition was terrible.

“ I told them to be patient with me, seeing his tiny breath. I still believed, I knew he would survive and I called on God to handle the matter. They agreed because they saw how determined I was, because I was all about doing anything I can. I didn’t want to say anything negative. That night I got sick. Although, as human being and with the things I saw, I knew that anything can happen at anytime but I just believed God because I didn’t want to give up or accept the negative. I kept having faith.”

Clear death

The third death was normal death on its own. He just gave up, his tongue was all out with spittle and his eyes had already turned white. That very day I went out and they called me as they will not like to move him to the mortuary without me seeing for myself, because we had stayed in the hospital for a long time and according to the matron, she knew how far we had gone. When I came, I held him, and called on God, when I was crying they wheeled him out, all the doctors in Garki hospital came, pressing him, beating him all over his body, giving him medication, trying to resuscitate him, because they felt like, if we had tried the first and second times, let’s see what we can do. After two to three hours they called me, and when I came, I saw him smiling.” She narrated with tears.

Speaking to Obiorah on how he is doing,’ he spoke calmly in few words.

“I feel ok now, and by God’s grace I am ok.  Anybody that is touched by my plight can help in paying the bill, and I will remain grateful.”

The Sun