How Kike almost lost her job…did love later find her?

The Rose Hospital was in a state of confusion on this particular day. The number of patients wheeled in for various accident related cases was quite high. Everyone was on their toes attending to different people. Nurses running around to meet with instructions given by doctors. It was surely one of those busy days. It felt like another season of Grey’s Anatomy.

Babatunde Badmus and his wife were among those that were rushed in. Babatunde had a compound fracture from a severe car accident that put his right leg in a dicey state. His wife was rushed to the emergency unit. As they wheeled her there, though in pain, he kept shouting “Please help save my wife, save her life …please!!”. The nurses were doing their best to calm him down “Not to worry sir, she will be fine, we urgently need to attend to you too, the fracture you sustained is severe” Nurse Kike told him. She was one of the nurses wheeling him to the emergency room.

Apparently, he did not feel pain when the accident happened but pain later came upon him with so much intensity he shouted “I am in pain…help!!”. Babatunde required urgent surgery to clean the area of the injury because there was a break in the skin and the bone on the leg was out, the doctors feared debris and infection could travel to the fracture location, and lead to a high rate of infection in the bone. The doctors were glad he was rushed in not long after the accident happened.

Dr Mike Raymond conducted a physical examination and asked him questions about how and where the injury occurred. Though Babatunde was in pain, he managed to explain what happened. The wound was thoroughly examined to determine the extent of the damage. The Doctor ordered an x-ray to get a better look at the bone.

They commenced surgical cleansing of the wound, treated him with appropriate antibiotics and stabilized the fracture. He was also given tetanus shots.

The doctor then placed the injured limb in a splint to keep the bones from moving until it was time for surgery.

Babatunde was operated upon; external fixation was used for him because the wound and bones were not yet ready for a permanent metal implant.

The surgery was successful; he was wheeled out of the surgery room. Again, it was Nurse Kike that was with him. As they wheeled him to his room, though tired, he asked Kike about his wife. She heard but acted like she did not hear, she did not want to be the one to give the bad news.

“Ma’am, can I please know how my wife is faring?” he managed to speak and Kike responded “sir, you just came out of surgery, you need to relax sir”.

Nurse Kiki was assigned to take care of him so she kept checking on him to ensure he was stable. After about 2 hours of sleeping after the surgery, he pressed the side bell and Kike rushed in. He said he was hungry. Kike called the kitchen and he was served. When he was done, Kike came to check on him. After checking his BP and other vitals, as she turned to leave he held her right hand and she turned to look at him. Then he said “She’s gone right? Please don’t lie to me…tell me please I beg of you, tell me? Please!!” he said as he burst into tears. “You need to be strong sir so you can heal soon and start Physical therapy” Kike said. By this time, Babatunde began to wail. He couldn’t believe his wife was gone. He was in pain and the thought of his wife aggravated the pain “Why me Lord? Why me?? Nurse but you told me she would be fine, why me?” he shouted and the Doctor came in. “Nurse Kike, what is going on here?” he asked. By this time she was already jittery. He managed to calm him down, he requested for a specific medication, Nurse Kike ran to get it, it was administered to Babatunde and he slept. “Come with me to my office Nurse Kike” the doctor said and left the room. He immediately assigned another Nurse to Babatunde.

Kike knew she was in trouble and prepared her mind for the worst. “Nurse Kike, why did you tell him his wife is dead? Is it appropriate to give him that kind of news? Is it professionally right?” responding to him she said “Sir, I did not mention it to him. He kept asking and all I did was distract his mind from the matter. The more he asked the more he cried sir, I never said anything to suggest so sir.” She explained. “Kike, I am sorry, your excuse is not valid. You will have to be away for two weeks pending when we decide on what to do to you. You can leave now”.

Kike left the office in tears. Another nurse was already assigned to Babatunde. When he woke up, he asked about Nurse Kike and he was told she had left. He knew something had gone wrong and even though they tried to keep the news from him, he knew something had happened to her. He told the Doctor that Kike never told him his wife was dead and that he concluded so because while he was asleep, he saw his wife waving at him and as he tried to get closer, she was nowhere to be found. After a week, Kike was called back. The smile on Babatunde’s face when he saw her was that of satisfaction, knowing that he did not cause someone to lose her job because of him.

Babatunde’s marriage to his wife was just a year and a half. He asked that his wife be embalmed till he could at least stand. He wanted to give her a befitting burial. After a month and a half of being in the hospital, he underwent another surgery and after another month, he was discharged but was on crutches. His wife was buried and it was a painful period in his life. He continued to receive therapy, he experienced stiffness and discomfort for several months but Kike was always by his side (Kike had quit her job at the hospital). Babatunde is quite rich, so he employed her as his personal nurse. She assists him even after the Physiotherapist leaves. It’s been two years after the accident and Babatunde is almost back to walking normally…with Kike by his side, let’s just say things are looking good!

Kemi Ajumobi