Linus OOTA, Lafia
Penniel Agee-Ater Pius is only two years old, but he has experienced enough to know that life is not a bed of roses. The foetus of the hapless toddler was barely seven months old when his mother was hit by a gas explosion that burnt her beyond recognition and prompted a team of doctors to carry out a cesarean operation that brought Baby Penniel to life.
September 10, 2018, a day that remains etched in the memory of Penniel’s father, Mr Aluga Pius, had begun like any other. Pius, then an employee of Lapo Microfinance Bank in Lafia, Nasarawa State, had woken up brimming with the joy of his wife’s first pregnancy.
As she was wont to do, Pius’s wife, Shiminenge, prepared the breakfast he would eat before going to work. Soon after Pius left for work, Shiminenge left for the market to get some food items.
But tragedy struck as she was returning home. She ran into a gas explosion at Monaco Gas Station situated in the premises of Natson Petroleum Nigeria Ltd on Jos Expressway, Lafia.
It was a tradegy that left in its wake the death of many people in their prime. No fewer than 37 people including passers bye, returning polytechnic students, shop owners and residents of the neighbourhood were burnt beyond recognition, including the mother of little Penniel whose pregnancy was seven months old.
The explosion was said to have been caused by a leakage from one of the reservoirs at the gas station.
Battle to save Shiminenge
The late Shiminenge was immediately rushed to Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH) Lafia where doctors hurriedly removed the baby from her womb before she gave up the ghost.
On the occasion of Penniel’s second birthday, our correspondent visited his father’s residence situated behind the technical building of Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia, where, in an emotional laden voice, he relived the circumstances surrounding the death of his beloved wife and the pains of nurturing Penniel without her.
He said: “The whole thing started in the early morning of September 10, 2018. I woke up happily as a newly married man. I went to the office and proceeded to the field.
“Suddenly, I got a call from my area manager, telling me that my wife was involved in an accident and asking me to go to the hospital to see her.
“On getting to the hospital, the whole place was crowded, but I managed to find myself inside the hospital and was looking for her. After some time, I saw a surgical team moving her on a stretcher to the operation room so I followed them.
“They asked if anybody knew the woman and I told them I was the husband. They gave me a paper, I signed and they operated her. That was when we had this young man (Penniel).
“Her pregnancy was only seven months and two weeks, and my state area manager was also involved in the accident, so some of my colleagues in the office were also there.
,”After the operation, we took her to the National Trauma Centre Abuja, and we spend five days there before she gave up the ghost.
“On the day she died, our marriage was exactly 11 months and one day old. That was on September 15, 2018. Since then, my boy and I have been managing to survive
“Unfortunately, he developed hernia two months after he was brought out of his mother’s womb. We battled the hernia, believing God that he would get well without an operation. Unfortunately, the hernia refused to go until he was operated upon at seven months.
“Thankfully, we have not had any health issue since then other than ordinary malaria”
Pius said he felt very bad that his wife had to die for his son to survive.
“I felt very bad on the side of my wife. But I also give God the glory for giving me the baby,” he said.
“Many people were involved in the accident but he is the only one alive. My state manager was involved in the accident with a 10-month-old baby and both of them died.
“I appreciate Dr Brima, the head of surgical department of DASH, for taking a decision when I was not there to save my son at just seven months in the womb
“After that, my son was also operated upon when he was seven months old. I thank God for giving them the wisdom to do what they did.”
Asked how easy it has been to cope with his wife’s absence, Pius said: “It has not been easy, to be sincere. It is just like yesterday. I wept a lot but I accepted it because it was the will of God. He gives and takes life.
“But I will never forget the good memories I shared with my wife. Wherever she is, I will continue to love and miss her. She was my best friend and we had good plans for our then unborn baby. Little did I know that she would not even see the baby,” he said.
Asked if he planned to take another wife, Pius said: “Not yet. My focus at the moment is how to take care of my son, train him well and prepare him for the future.
“I just have to rest now. I need peace of mind. Definitely, I will take a wife in the future.”
How we rescued Baby Penniel –Surgeon
Also speaking, Dr Jibrin Kadijah, the consultant surgeon who conducted the Caesarean operation, told The Nation in her office that she was happy that the child survived the trauma and would grow up with a story to tell.
She said: “Well, following the tragic incident at the gas filling station along Jos Road in Lafia, the victims were brought to DASH, and the management requested that all doctors on duty except those from emergency posting should avail themselves for the management of the casualties
“I was on duty that very day and went out there looking for the pregnant women that were involved. Then I saw this young woman that was severely burnt and was also pregnant.
“On questioning the young lady, she told us that this was her first pregnancy and that she was seven months pregnant. We quickly arranged and took her for scan, and the scan revealed that the baby in her womb was not too much affected even though she was badly burnt.
“We told her about our findings, and after assessing the possibility of the survival of the mother and the baby, we realised that the chance of the baby surviving was more than the mother’s.
“So we informed her about our findings and we let her know that the baby would do well outside her than inside.
“I could remember those tearful eyes. She held my hand and told me, ‘Doctor, do whatever you can do to ensure nothing happens to my baby,’ and I assured her I was going to try my best.
“Immediately we started preparing her for Cesarean session, hoping that her relative would be present to sign the informed consent.
“Fortunately, while we were wheeling her out of the signing room, we saw the husband, confused, tearful and downcast.
“We gave him some time to feel his wife and then we started discussing the possibility of surgery to rescue the baby from the womb, but he was obviously not ready for that discussion. We had him say, ‘my wife’. He didn’t remember the baby.
“We had to support him to regain his balance and let him see the danger of losing both his dear wife and the unborn child if surgery was not done in good time. He quickly understood that and signed the consent.
“So we went ahead and did the surgery. We had to cut through the burnt skin to get to the baby. Fortunately, the baby came out alive. We delivered her of the baby and gave it to the neonatologist where it was restored.
“The baby was immediately transferred to SDU where the consultant gynecologist was also waiting to receive the baby. So, the management of the baby continued from there.
“After the surgery, we moved the woman to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where the obstetrician managed her before her referral to Abuja.”
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) at DASH, Dr Hassan Ikrima, also told The Nation that the hospital is government owned and the main aim of the state government is to help the poor get quality health care services to the poor so that it will be accessible to them.
“So when the incident happened, the patients were brought here. The lady sustained serious burns she could hardly recover from. As it happened, we lost her. I doubt if there was any centre in the country that could save her, because she sustained 98% burns.
“But we were able to save the baby because of the arrangement that we have here and the interest of the state government at the time. Everything was done free of charge. Even the patients that we took to Abuja due to the burns, the state government bore the cost.
“So, all we did for the baby and the mother were for free, and they were a continuation of the service the state government renders in the state.
“That case was a prominent one, but it is something we do every now and then, trying to bring top notch quality health services to the poor.”
He thanked God that the baby was saved, “even though we lost the mother and today the boy is two years old. He will certainly have a story to tell. I pray that almighty God guides and protects the little boy.”
