Oko poly: Student Miraculously Survives Bite From Viper Snake

By Chidebe Nancy

Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) Nnewi on Sunday was thrown into perplexity when a young girl and student of Science Laboratory Technology (SLT) of Federal Polytechnic Oko who was identified as Mercy David was brought to the hospital with emergency ambulance of the Polytechnic Medical center.

At the emergency ward where the victim was to be received, the Matron of emergency ward allegedly declined receiving the girl and some medical team of the institution that followed the ambulance on the account that the emergency ward was filled to brim and hence no space to admit any patients.

However, the SUG president of the Federal Polytechnic, giant Comrade Charles Onuorah, popularly called ‘Sir Charles’ with another staff of the institution together with the medical team that followed the ambulance to the hospital swung into real actions by making every possible contacts including calling the line of the Teaching hospital’s Chief Medical Director (CMD) to urgently take an upper action in the situation, crying out that they wouldn’t take back the lady with the dead while they had made every frantic effort to bring her to hospital alive and while something could still be done to resuscitate her.

We gathered that the president even went as far as trying to arrange a space in front of the pharmacy store of the ward so as to bring the student in.

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The situation and the ‘drama’ also drew the attention of many people in the hospital both passersby, staff and, recovering patients.
Seeing the insistence of the SUG president and the medical team, the Matron had to explain the situation to the CMD who in turn gave an express order that the student should be ‘admitted’ and taken care of in the Ambulance since there was no space in the emergency ward.

The SUG president later narrated to our reporter who visited the hospital that Mercy’s survival till that moment was miraculous owing to the fact that while they were on their way, that the girl had had near-death experiences many times only that the effective care and speedy response of the school Medical and aggressive prayers of the people that followed the Ambulance sustained her from giving up the ghost.

From the account of the SUG president relating on what he was informed, Mercy’s was on Saturday night, bitten by a very poisonous snake identified as viper and was rushed to nearby hospital (name of the hospital withheld) by some fellow students where she was given some treatments, but was not injected with any anti-venom.

He, however, explained that a spirited individual informed him about the situation while he was in the church on Sunday morning for Sunday service which made him to leave the church immediately for the nearby hospital and on getting there, he found out that the girl situation was already worsened as the venom from the snake had circulated her body system, attacking her nerves and heart leading to intermittent convulsions. At this moment, he contacted the school Medical Director, Dr. ( Mrs) Muonago who further gave an instant order that the girl should be transferred to the school Medical center and hence be referred to the teaching hospital.

At the urgent instruction of the medical director, Mercy was immediately placed on oxygen and various medications in the Ambulance and immediately conveyed to the teaching hospital.

According to the account of another student who followed the Ambulance and who was identified by Anaedoonline.com simply as Buchi, Mercy was struggling with her life throughout the drive from Oko to Nnewi. He insinuated that Mercy ‘gave up’ the ghost up to three times while they were on their way. But save for their strong beliefs, never-give-up mindset and aggressive prayers, that the worst could have happened.

To collaborate his story, the SUG president told anaedoonline.ng that “prayers and MERCY saved Mercy’s life. What I saw Mercy passed through is better seen than imagined”.
At the time of filling in this report, Mercy had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the teaching hospital, but a source close to her confirmed that she is now stable and has regained consciousness