Loveth Sunday, a 27-year-old indigene of Anambra State, speaks with CHUKWUDI AKASIKE about how her life took a different turn after she was knocked down by a bus three weeks after her introduction ceremony, became an amputee, and abandoned by her fiancé

Where are you from?

I am from Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.

What is your occupation?

I am a hairstylist but sell perfume.

You were seen in a video dancing even when you are physically challenged. What led to the amputation of your leg?

I was involved in a fatal accident. I said it was a fatal accident because it took two lives.

How did the accident happen?

It was a bus that had a brake failure that knocked me down where I was standing by the roadside. The bus veered off the road and hit three people, including me. Two people died while I survived. I didn’t see the bus coming towards me because it happened so fast.

What happened after you were hit by the vehicle?

I was rushed to the hospital by sympathisers who were around the scene of the accident, and I was in a coma for five days. I was rushed to the first hospital but was rejected by the medical workers on the ground.

A similar situation happened at the second hospital where the sympathisers took me to; I was rejected by five hospitals. I was attended to at the sixth hospital.

When did the accident happen?

It happened on the 12th of April 2019, at the front of Oraifite Police Station. I was going to Onitsha to buy one or two items for one of my siblings.

Did your parents or any of your relatives come to the hospital where you were admitted after the accident?

Yes, my parents came. They were heartbroken, and they thought I wasn’t going to make it because of how bad my leg was. The accident was so bad that anyone who saw me on that day would think I was going to die. But I thank God I am still alive.

What did the doctor tell you at the hospital when you regained consciousness?

The two legs, according to the doctor, were to be amputated, but God intervened. I regained consciousness in the hospital I was taken to. That was when I noticed what happened. The hospital said the leg had been damaged and that they would not be able to fix it.

They then transferred me to another hospital at Ojoto in Anambra State. It is called Uzondu Orthopaedic Hospital. Immediately, we got to the hospital, the doctor came down, checked me, and said the leg was dead and would be amputated. I felt so bad. I was so scared and began to think I was not going to make it.

How did your parents feel when the doctor said you would undergo an amputation?

My parents disagreed with the doctor because the entire situation came to them as a shock. Then the doctor said that if they refused to approve that my leg should be amputated, the bacteria in the leg that was causing my left leg to decay could move to my heart and might cause serious damage that could lead to death.

The doctor specifically said I might not survive it if it got to that stage. My parents wanted me alive, but they were scared when they heard that my leg would be amputated.

So, they thought I was going to die. That was why they were against it in the first place. But after all the medical process, they were happy that I was alive.

Did your parents later consent to the amputation of your leg?

No, they still refused to give their approval. But when they maintained their stance on not supporting the amputation of my left leg, the doctor convinced me to do it (allow my leg to be amputated so that I can be alive).

According to the doctor, if I survive the situation, it is my life, and if I don’t survive it, it is still my life.

How much was paid as the cost of treating you after the accident?

At the time, we were told to deposit N350,000. Then, after the expenses in the hospital, the sum of N2.5m had already been spent.

In one of your videos online, you were using a prosthesis. Did you buy it?

Yes, I bought one for myself, but it later had issues with the foot. That was why I went back to using crutches. I currently need a prosthesis. At the moment, people who have tried to help have asked me if I have heard about a prosthesis. I said yes.

Someone has also told me to measure my leg and send the measurement to him. I have done that and sent it to the person. I am still waiting and hoping in God. Then a man told me to go to a tailor who would measure me from my waist down to my foot.

Do you have any idea of the cost of a good prosthesis that can assist you in working without much difficulty?

I was told that there are varieties of prostheses with different prices. There is one they said I could manage. It will help me to walk. I was told the price is N850,000. There is another one they said I would be free with. I was told that one is N1.5m.

Then there is another with silicone that will enable me to do anything I want to do. They said that one is N2.5m. I am trusting God that one day, I will be able to get it so that I can be able to walk without hindrance.

How have your parents been supporting you financially?

My parents do not really have money.

You said you had an introduction ceremony, and within two weeks, the accident happened.

Yes, the introduction ceremony was on the 23rd of March, and then I had an accident on the 12th of April 2019.

So, how did your husband respond when you had an accident?

At first, when he was called, he came to the hospital. After he left, he stopped calling; he stopped checking on me, and that signified the end of the relationship.

Did you try to reach out to him?

Yes, I did, but he said he would not be able to continue with the relationship.

Are you saying he decided to pull out of the relationship?

Yes, I was still at the hospital when he told me that. He said he was no longer interested in marrying me.

How did you feel at that point?

(Sighs) I thank God I did not give up or die because I was expecting him to encourage me and not the other way round. But I thank God, I encouraged myself by believing in God that things will surely get better.

Did your friends visit you while you were in the hospital?

They visited me, but not all are with me now. Some of them are with me, while others left because of my condition. First, I felt bad that my fiancé left me. It is also painful that my best friend didn’t come to visit me at the hospital at all.

Till today, my best friend has not checked on me. But all thanks to God Almighty, because it really showed me the kind of people I was dealing with in the past.

Do you have siblings, and how many are they?

I have siblings. There are seven of them.

Have they given you any financial support since you had the accident?

They don’t really have money, but they still encourage me in other ways. I come from a humble background.

What is your position in the family?

I am the fifth child, but I am the first daughter of the family.

What kind of help do you need urgently that can give you succour?

I need a prosthesis and financial support 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 assist the family to solve one or two problems through the little business.

How far have you gone with your education?

Before the accident, I mean after my secondary education, I sat the UTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination), and I got admission into the Anambra State University, Uli. Unfortunately, there was no money. That explains why I went to learn a trade, which is hairstyling.

Did you have any premonition that you would be involved in an accident?

Yes, I had a dream where I was involved in an accident, but I didn’t take it seriously. I dreamt of being involved in an accident at the front of the same Oraifite Police Station where I was knocked down by a bus in reality.

In that dream, I was under a bus. So, I woke up and prayed. I didn’t tell anybody. Then, I also dreamt of seeing my obituary posters. As I said earlier, I didn’t tell anybody, but I prayed over it.

Are you ready to start another relationship if a man seeks your hand in marriage?

I have given up on any form of relationship in the future, but I still have male and female friends who come to encourage me.

What about the driver who knocked you down? Did he pay the family any form of compensation?

He did not pay any compensation. The driver did not even come to the hospital; it was his brother who came there. He came with some people, and when my parents began to talk to them, they brought N50,000. But we eventually spent N2.5m on treatment.

They said they had already sold their land to do the burial of the two ladies who died in the accident.

When I started shouting at the driver’s brother, he said, ‘I think you want to get married; let me marry you then.’ So, my siblings told them to get up and leave. They did not pay any other money than the N50,000 they brought.

The doctor told them that they were wrong to have mocked me. The doctor said they made me lose my marriage and a leg.