Nollywood
KC Ejelonu, Nollywood Actress Who Escaped Amputation While Battling Edema Recounts Ordeal
British Nigerian Actress KC Ejelonu Recounts How Lagos Doctors Almost Amputated Her Leg Because Of Edema
KC Ejelonu, the Nollywood actress whose video went viral recently after she developed an allergy to egg and noodles has urged the Nigerian FG to pay more attention to the health sector in order to save more lives.
The actress who almost got her leg amputated wrote:
“I am really worried about the next generation and those who don’t have access to good medical care. This is the third time I am having a medical issue in Nigeria. The first time, they almost amputated my leg instead of them to drain out the fluid I had in my leg.
“Where is Nigeria headed? This scares me so much. I truly want to be a part of some change in Nigeria. And I pray God destroys the plan of any individual who wants to be in government or who is already in government and not doing what they should be doing. Providing services for the citizens should be a priority.”
Speaking with Saturday beats, she further explained the situation that led to the incident,
“Yes I am conscious of my health; I have my medical records with me when I registered in all the hospitals. It breaks my heart to know that they didn’t have what I needed. To be honest, that we don’t have an emergency ward in hospitals is heartbreaking.
“It was just excess fluid called Edema. After they had done a blood test and said I was fine, I was told if the swelling increased, they would have to amputate it. That was my first time having Edema, so I didn’t know what to do and at the time, I wasn’t told it was Edema. I took the next available flight out of Nigeria and went straight to the National Health Service (in the UK) and they diagnosed me with Edema,” she told Saturday Beats.
Asked about other issues in Nigeria that she saw as a challenge, the talented actor said lots of things should change in the country. She also added that despite the nasty experience she had, she didn’t regret relocating to Nigeria from the UK. She noted that she was concerned about people who don’t have the means to travel for medical care.
“I believe we are all tired at this point because it feels like nothing works. We have exposed politicians as leaders and what I see is that they don’t care for the citizens and the country as a whole.
“I felt more for those who can’t just get on a plane and travel for medical care; but then again, why do we have to leave our country for medical care? What I went through was a near-death experience as my sight was becoming blurry,” she said.
When asked about some of the challenges she has faced as an actress, she said there was a time she was told she wasn’t slim and light enough to make it in the movie industry.
“My-self–love-journey started when I was on a hospital bed. I was ill and almost lost my life. To be honest, I was told if I flew, I would not make it. But I got on the plane in faith and had an agreement with God. I got to the UK and all I remember was seeing lights and someone asking me questions. Next thing I remembered was waking up on a hospital bed. I had three doctors by my bed telling me it was a miracle.
“We all face challenges in our careers or jobs, I would say being told I was not skinny enough, not light-skinned enough,” she said.
Anike
December 15, 2018 at 7:29 AM
You suffer from allergy and prone to having Anaphylaxis reaction to egg and some other things which you may or may not know, so you should carry Epipen with you at all times. Nigeria is a dangerous place to live in if you have serious health issues. I remember a colleague’s daughter who died after Penicillin injection was administered to her and she had anaphylaxis, collapsed and died. Adrenaline which should be the first drug to administer was not available at the hospital. The nurses are not updated in how to perform CPR or trained to handle emergencies. This is very scary and one of the reasons why people with serious medical problems don’t want to move back to Nigeria to live. The wealth of the nation is in the hands of some people, they have stolen all the money meant for all of us, the country is in a mess and they and their families can afford to travel abroad for medical treatments. Nigerians have become laughingstock all over the world, yet they keep deceiving us they want to bring a change, pls where is the change? How long does it take to bring a radical change, rather thie situation getting better, it’s getting worse, young Nigerians have turned to crimes like ritual killing, kidnapping, yahoo plus etc. How can people who suffer from dementia be ruling us, they don’t have a clue on how to turn things around to bring a radical change in the country; they are afraid to step on people’s toes and are not neutral; they bring tribalism into their leadership. Health facilities are not available to the common Nigerians, I don’t know how we got to where we are and how long we will remain there or how we Nigerians have become so stupid and money conscious that we know what to do but we don’t want to do it. We keep praying for God to help us but he is not going to come down physically to act for us when he has empowered us with natural resources to use. Nigerians use your brain and stop being stupid.
Jilo
December 17, 2018 at 2:13 PM
KC Ejelonu, thanks for sharing this information. I also appreciate the fact that you left UK in-spite of all ups and downs, stress, pain and suffering in Nigeria, trying to make a difference to your root, I mean your mother’s land. I give you credit on that. It is very rare to see a young girl of your age who had seen the difference between developed and developing world and thinking of coming to live and make impact in a country like Nigeria.
About your illness which supposed to have been corrected by our Nigerian Doctors using simple procedure,instead they gave you an option of amputation. Thank God you made use of your wit by shipping yourself back into the UK before they could totally destroy your health. Edema is a simple illness which may be caused by circulatory system or a chronic condition in which the hearth doesn’t pump blood as well as it should, which may result in retention of fluid in legs. It may also be due to prolonged standing, sitting or eating large amounts of salt. The UK Doctor did the right thing by draining away the water from your swollen legs. I never know how this Nigerian Doctor came up with amputating option. This is one of the reasons why we need to upgrade our system in Nigeria. Also this is another area where we should pump our money by investing in our health care system for the benefits of Nigerians. We should be sending our Doctor for induction courses and training to avert bad situation like this instead of stealing and hoarding our wealth in foreign Countries. We may have to come together to make this work, one person cannot do this, it has to be joint effort by all Nigerians.
A similar situation happened to a 10 years old boy who was born in the United States and his parents sent him to Nigeria in order for him to learn Nigeria culture but unfortunately, the boy felled ill and a Nigerian Doctor diagnosed him with appendicitis. The boy’s father said they should put on plane and fly him back into the US on arriving here the boy was examined thoroughly at John Hopkin University Hospital in Baltimore Maryland. They put him under MRI even he was diagnosed to the last part of his bone. This Hospital is one of the best in the US. They discovered that nothing like appendicitis happened or affected that boy. They only told the boy to change his diet. His father was asking about medication, they told him why should they give him medication for what?. In the US they don’t give you medication unless they diagnosed you for that illness. It was a shame that they discovered that a Nigeria Doctor diagnosed this boy and wanted to carry out operation on a 10 year old. Lack of proper diagnosis may contribute to high mortality rate in Nigeria because of carelessness by our medical personnel.