Husband’s Plea and Tale of Hope Dims – And His Wife Died!

By Joke Kujenya

HOURS AFTER making an impassioned appeal to save the life of his wife, Elle Emmanuel-Babatunde, she died in anguish.

Adebayo Oladipo Babatunde, 49, who pleaded yesterday with Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and Health Commissioner Tommy Coker to rescue his wife from her health torment, just sent an early morning chat to the JKNewsMedia official WhatsApp platform that reads: “We lost my wife in the midnight.”

Recalling the gory details that led to her untimely demise, he said: “When we arrived at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, and she was examined, I was told that her ‘inside’ had been wrongly tampered with, but I didn’t realize the extent.

“Still, they wheeled her into the theatre for some hours. By the time the doctors came out, they looked very sad. I asked them what happened, thinking she had died. They told me that some worms and bacteria had so badly infested my wife’s stomach and most of her intestines had stuck together.

“But they said that if treatments continued steadfastly, they might still be able to clean her up, and probably, she could get over it. I still remember how they were looking terribly sad. About the same time, there was a little child playing with them that day, but they shouted at him and asked me sternly, ‘Who was the doctor that did this operation on your wife?’

“Thereafter, I was told that I must get the doctor who performed the initial Caesarian Section arrested because he does not deserve to be called a doctor or medical practitioner at all. They said he had caused so much havoc in her body and made her inside pest-ridden. The debris drained out of my wife’s body that day was about half of a five-liter keg and terribly smelly.

“So, I felt that since all that was done, the worst was over, and I kept hoping for her to get better. Later, I planned to confront the doctor who performed the CS at the Global Health Hospital and Maternity.

“Since then, it had been back-and-forth on cleaning her up on the inside until it climaxed on June 13, when she had to be wheeled into the surgical room again, and they fixed oxygen on her body to stabilize her. From that day, her body began to gush out a large flow of blood at different times. They said blood was required, and they even got some from my body.

“My wife was an indigene of Benue State, but due to the persistent insecurity and economic situation in Nigeria, members of her family were not able to come. However, they kept in touch with us on the phone all the time, and they were kept abreast of everything.

“Sadly, now that she’s dead, her mom, who resides in Oshogo, Osun State, is now accusing me of killing her after I had spent all I could to ensure that she overcame the problem. Our only child belongs to the two of us, so how can I want her dead at all? Only God will judge that.

“In fact, around 6:00 PM yesterday, Tuesday evening, she woke up still with the oxygen fixed on her, and we had good fun. She played with us and looked good for a while. She smiled and talked with me. Eventually, some people came to pray for her. She fully participated with ‘Amen’ and sang with them. And after that, she and I also prayed that God would heal her, and she would soon return with me to our matrimonial home. She said, ‘Amen,’ held my hand, and thanked me for staying with her and taking good care of her.

“So, I went to sit outside where I usually sit while my younger sister stayed with her. I started hearing their voices as they continued to sing because it’s a female ward, and men are not allowed to stay inside there for long. I smiled with joy. Not long after, my younger sister left and promised to return today, Wednesday, to stay with my wife while I could go rest and change my clothes.

“Everything was really fine and calm until about 2:00 AM today, June 19, when I was called to get a particular drug. So, I was handed the prescription and ran to the pharmacy to get the drug. But as soon as I gave it to them, they told me that I had to get one more. I noticed that her breathing had reduced from the way it was earlier.

“With the doctors still there, I called her, but she didn’t respond. I told her to talk, but instead, she just sounded like a shriek. So, I ran as fast as I could to get the second drug, praying at the same time. Sadly, on my return, she had stopped breathing after they said she screamed again like someone in anguish.

“Immediately, I dropped the drug and started crying and shouting like a crazy man. Then, I went to sit down where I usually sit to wait for her, expecting that they would come and tell me she had woken up again. How can she just die like that because she wanted to have a baby? How can she die despite all the struggles we had put in to make her get better? Does that mean she’s gone?” I asked no one in particular. “I never allowed her to work, and she never lacked anything I could afford.

“Before I was asked to get the drugs, the doctors still came to check her BP and other vitals, and she seemed okay apart from losing blood. I didn’t know this is where all my travails would end. My baby is with my school grandmother. I don’t have parents anymore.

“I was then told that she called my younger sister and women around to ask them if it was possible for God to let her down despite all her prayers. And the women with my younger sister told her, ‘No, God does not let anyone down; you should continue to trust in God, and you’ll be alright.’ From that point, she became silent but hadn’t died at that point until it was later in the midnight she gave up the ghost.”