The past four days have been the scariest days of my life.

I woke up on the 17th of April feeling really upbeat. It was my birthday, but that evening, the energy shifted in ways I never imagined. I had just returned from the mechanic and was about to get some fruits before heading home when a call from my mom came in.

“Precious! Where are you? Please, where are you? Come to the house with the car. It’s your father!”

I told her I had just left the car at the mechanic for servicing, but at that point, I could already hear my siblings crying in the background.

Immediately, I froze. Millions of thoughts raced through my mind in a second. There was no way I could get home quickly.Before I reached home, my neighbour was already driving out. Inside the car were my mom, my neighbour, my junior sister, and my dad. I turned to look at my dad in the back seat. His teeth were locked and his eyes were fixed. I couldn’t utter a word.

All through the night, I sat beside my mom, watching my dad lie almost lifeless. I tried hard to stay positive. The doctors and nurses were doing their best, but the service was poor. He had multiple seizures within a few hours. I was really scared. The doctors eventually became hopeless and had to refer him to another hospital because they couldn’t manage his condition.

There was no ambulance available to transport him. So, between the time he was referred and when my mom could find a vehicle, my dad had three more seizures. The doctors and nurses seemed to care less about him. When the vehicle finally arrived, they moved him while I went home to prepare so I could join them the next day. Little did I know that was just the beginning of the terror.

By the time I got home, I broke down in tears, tears I hadn’t shed in the longest while. Shortly after, my mom called. They were demanding a deposit of 500,000 naira. “Where are we going to get that kind of money from?” was the biggest question on our minds. Still, they had him and had already started taking care of him. I was able to arrange 300,000 naira, which I deposited into the hospital account.

That night, I fell sick and have been bedridden for the past three days. All I can do now is communicate with my mom at the hospital. I received both good news and bad news. The good news is that my dad is responding to treatment. The bad news is that the bill is already running into millions, and we only had 300,000 naira, which we already deposited.

Anyways, since I do not really have anyone to vent to, I just thought I could vent through typing it here, I’m getting better now, and my dad is responding. I know God will make a way for us to clear the bills.

I almost lost my dad on my birthday

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