Mystery fire disfigures woman 11 days before wedding
•Needs N2m for surgery
Photo:
Sun News Publishing
Charity, shortly after the explosion, and on her graduation day
If Charity Okoroukwu, a 27-year-old woman, who graduated in Business
Administration from the Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Enugu,
had known that danger was lurking around the corner 11 days to her
wedding, she would not have attempted to refuel a kerosene lantern on
December 17, 2011.
On that fateful day, she was refuelling the lantern when it caught fire,
exploded and left her with third degree burns. But till date, a yet
unsolved riddle still bothers her about the incident. The fire, which
disrupted her life, did not affect the keg containing the kerosene.
At the time, the native of Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra
State was awaiting mobilisation for the mandatory national youths
service scheme. Now, she needs more than N2 million for a plastic
surgery.
Charity, fondly addressed as ‘Chacha’ by her friends at the IMT, told
Daily Sun: “When I was in the IMT where I graduated on December 6, 2011,
I was popularly known as Chacha. Few days later, I left Enugu for our
village in Anambra State to prepare for my wedding that was to hold on
December 28. On December 17, which was exactly 11 days to my wedding
ceremony, I wanted to put kerosene in one of our lanterns and it
exploded. So, the fire burnt my body without mercy.
“People that were around poured water on me and I was rushed to a nearby
hospital. I was later transferred to another private hospital in Awka. I
spent more than two months there before I was discharged. My bill at
the hospital was well above N500, 000. In spite of the treatment and the
money involved, I was not okay as at the time I was discharged,” she
said.
Charity, who noted that she was five months pregnant when the fire burnt
her, stated that the wedding was held in the hospital. Her husband,
according to her, insisted that the wedding must be held to shame the
devil.
She continued: “After that, my husband, who has been residing in Lagos,
asked me to come. When I got to Lagos, we went to the Federal Medical
Centre (FMC), Ebutte Meta. At the FMC, I registered for ante natal.
Shortly thereafter, we were referred to the Lagos University Teaching
Hospital (LUTH).
“I was admitted when I got to LUTH and I was subjected to series of
tests. In the hospital, I had my baby through caesarean section because
of my condition. We named the boy Victor Chidera. Victor means victory
and Chidera means what God has written. I gave him the name because of
my condition and the circumstances, surrounding his birth.”
Charity appealed to kind-hearted Nigerians, philanthropists and
corporate organisations to assist her so she could undergo a corrective
surgery in Israel.
“Please, help me because I don’t like my present condition. Now, I
cannot stay wherever is hot. I must stay indoors in the afternoon
because of the sun. Please, help me. I pray that neither you nor your
children will have this kind of experience. The explosion has spoilt my
beauty.”
Charity’s mother, Mrs. Grace Nnamezie, described the incident as an
attack masterminded by evil forces. “How could the fire burn my daughter
and didn’t touch the keg, containing the kerosene?” she wondered.
A private medical practitioner, Olakunle Adigun, said the surgery could
be done at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). He said,
however, that it would be in three stages: face, arms and abdomen. The
first stage, he said, would gulp about N400, 000, while the second stage
would cost about N650, 000.
“The cost for the third stage has not been given but the first two
stages will cost above N1 million apart from other miscellaneous
expenses. If all other expenses and the third stage are factored into
the surgery, the total cost will be more than N2 million,” he stated.
Adigun expressed hope that Charity would be better off after the
surgery.
While Charity can be contacted on the mobile numbers 08032229181 and
08033037223, a bank account number 0005774736 has been opened in her
name, Charity Nnamezie, at the Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos branch of the
GT Bank.
