AN EVENTFUL DAY........
Yesterday was quite a day at work for me. I had been idle most of the day; having sometime to myself I indulged in my favorite pastime- reading. My quiet time was soon shattered by the sound of gunshots fired in rapid succession.
The shots were soon followed by the cries of what I first assumed to be that of a murderous mob and my first inclination was to dive behind anything that looked remotely like a shelter from whatever was coming my way. The cries of ‘Doctor do something’ rent the air and I had to change direction to face the oncoming crowd.
They were made up of students from a nearby secondary school and on closer inspection; they bore the blood soaked body of one of their colleagues. They quickly deposited him on our examination couch and proceeded to cry out in heart rending tones that we should save their friend.
In between a cursory exam and crying out for various materials needed to resuscitate him, it was quite obvious he was in a very bad state. He had been stabbed by unknown individuals in a gang clash over a girl! He had a stab wound on his back through which blood poured out like a tap. His pulse was hardly palpable .It was obvious he needed Emergency exploration. After setting up intravenous infusion and applying a pack to the spot over the stab wound he was transferred to the General Hospital nearby by teachers from his school.
At the end of the day, there were two deaths and some injured. The young man I had seen earlier was amongst the casualties. It has been a while since I have seen anything that has shaken me so badly. I couldn’t get over the fact that just that morning he had dressed up to go to school and had bid his parents goodbye. He did not look more than 18years old.
What could possess secondary school students to draw knives out of sheaths and murder a fellow student over a girl? What spirit of madness possessed them to commit such a crime? Was the fight over a girl enough to provoke such fits of destruction? Maybe it’s a new trend in town, maybe it isn’t.
His funeral was held this morning and his fellow students on their way to the cemetery passed beside our hospital. Looking at them passing it was had to imagine that anyone of them could be a murderer. His murderer as at the time of typing is still at large!
God help us if our future is in their hands!
The shots were soon followed by the cries of what I first assumed to be that of a murderous mob and my first inclination was to dive behind anything that looked remotely like a shelter from whatever was coming my way. The cries of ‘Doctor do something’ rent the air and I had to change direction to face the oncoming crowd.
They were made up of students from a nearby secondary school and on closer inspection; they bore the blood soaked body of one of their colleagues. They quickly deposited him on our examination couch and proceeded to cry out in heart rending tones that we should save their friend.
In between a cursory exam and crying out for various materials needed to resuscitate him, it was quite obvious he was in a very bad state. He had been stabbed by unknown individuals in a gang clash over a girl! He had a stab wound on his back through which blood poured out like a tap. His pulse was hardly palpable .It was obvious he needed Emergency exploration. After setting up intravenous infusion and applying a pack to the spot over the stab wound he was transferred to the General Hospital nearby by teachers from his school.
At the end of the day, there were two deaths and some injured. The young man I had seen earlier was amongst the casualties. It has been a while since I have seen anything that has shaken me so badly. I couldn’t get over the fact that just that morning he had dressed up to go to school and had bid his parents goodbye. He did not look more than 18years old.
What could possess secondary school students to draw knives out of sheaths and murder a fellow student over a girl? What spirit of madness possessed them to commit such a crime? Was the fight over a girl enough to provoke such fits of destruction? Maybe it’s a new trend in town, maybe it isn’t.
His funeral was held this morning and his fellow students on their way to the cemetery passed beside our hospital. Looking at them passing it was had to imagine that anyone of them could be a murderer. His murderer as at the time of typing is still at large!
God help us if our future is in their hands!
Ouch! 'tis pretty hurtful to hear such stories of our teeming youth. 'tis even more sad 'cos Nigeria's tomorrow cannot pass over 'em, they have to do their part......but, not like this.
ReplyDeleteYet still, i choose to be hopeful.
I doff you my hat, medicine on profession i dared not but, always adore her practitioners