Sometime in
January 2015, I wrote a blog that Sammie Peter was flown to USA to receive
treatment on cancer related issues. We spoke then and she was really in good spirit and great health condition. All those stories , gist’s, amebos’ are now
over…she has conquered the cancer, and we give God the glory.
Sammie a very
amiable and gentle lady to the core talks like never before on breast cancer
issue, government role, the role of NGO, and how create awareness. According to
her, “The only way you can call yourself a millionaire or a rich person is by
touching lives. Let us learn how to touch souls, let us learn how to carter for
our fellow human beings. Let us take care of our humanity.”
”What kills most
Nigerian Women who fall victims of breast cancer is not really the cancer; it
is the approach to it. Some will say ‘Oh, I can’t cut off my breast”. Some will
say “I don’t even want to touch anything about my breast” well and good. But as
God said in the Bible, ‘If it is one eye that will cost you not to see the
kingdom of heaven, remove it”, so, if you are diagnosed, don’t go to an
ordinary doctor, visit an oncologist. I don’t know if we have professional
oncologists here in Nigeria but they have oncologist abroad who deal mainly in
the treatment of cancer patients.”
” If you are
asked to remove the breast, then, remove it so that the remaining body will be
okay. It is either you lose your whole self or you just lose the breast and the
breast is replaceable. Abroad, if they cut your breast they give you a new
breast. Secondly, another thing we do in Nigeria is to say “Eyan kan nse mi”
(Someone is spiritually attacking me) or it is a spiritual attack, you can
believe whatever you want to believe, if you think somebody is attacking you
spiritually fine, but please, just make sure you go to the hospital and do the
right thing. If you need Kimo, quickly take it. If you need to do surgery, do
it, if you need to do radiation, do it.”
The most
emotional moment for Sammie was when the issue of ordinary Nigerians without no
finance and nobody to give the huge funds was raised. (Sammie burst into tears
at this junction and had to excuse us as the question touched her heart. She
later returned to the interview session and continued).
She said: “This question brings sadness to me (Sobs), in
Africa, we are orphans. That is the sad truth, we are orphans, we have no
parents to carter for us and it is sad, really, really sad, because we have
rich people here, we have rich people, for us not to have a good cancer center
is sad. Terribly sad, it is horribly sad (Stood up as water stream down her
cheeks, returned after getting her emotional balance). The situation is heartbreaking.
In America where I took my treatment, the poor ones are the ones enjoying the
government. Do you believe that? In America, if you are poor and you don’t have
money, you will go to the hospital that President Obama uses and they will give
you a free treatment.”
She eulogies her
husband’s role during her trial period thus.. “My husband was there all through. My husband
is just too wonderful and I don’t think I can relay all what he did to ensure
my emotional and psychological comfort. I spent like 16 months abroad, I left
in August 2014. I left America in December and I came in here on the 1st of
January 2016. So, I spent roughly 17 months abroad and within those 17 months
he came to visit me four times, and he sent my son to me three times.
“SSP is a very
wonderful man, he is a wonderful man; he stood by me Gidigba; he was there. He
rented an apartment for me in America; he bought me a car, I can’t just start
reeling out some of the innumerable things he did for me during my challenging
moments. And whenever I looked into his face and I say ‘I thank you so much, Olowo
Ori mi, o seun, thank you, I appreciate. May God bless you” he will always say “Ayo
mi, Olorun fe koo mo bi Ife ti mo ni fun e se to ni” (God want to let you know
how profound my love for you is). God want to let you know how much I love you;
that is why this thing happened. When they were about doing the surgery for me
on my bed and I was feeling bad, I said ‘when you come now and see that they
have cut this thing, (Breast) I don’t know how you will feel’ he said ‘But I
will be there when they will cut it; so, it doesn’t matter’. He said ‘Love
surpasses all those kind of things; I am not even seeing anything. I am only
seeing you and I am glad and happy you are alive’. In fact, that gave me
strength, he was there.”
“Even if I have
appointment, he will be the one to wake me and say some nice things to my
hearing, if you listen to my entire voice recording in the US, it is my
husband’s voice that you will hear because I didn’t even give anybody my land
phone. Even my children were not given my land phone. It is part of the healing
process to enable me sleep and have an adequate rest. The place must be dark,
everywhere must be quite and you must have your 8-9 hours bed rest and I didn’t
want anyone to crash that schedule. And if I tell him, ‘wake me up by 6am, that
6am on the dot will be the time my husband will wake me up. He has been a
wonderful partner and lover in the entire journey and he didn’t blink during my
trying period. My husband is just too much. He is a musician, he flirts, he
enjoys his life but he is wonderful. He is pretty wonderful, believe me, he is
an honest man.”
And to all her well
wishers she said: “At that moment I said ‘Lord! Our people have given me love’;
I didn’t know they loved me that much. May God Almighty help me bless each and
every one of them for showing me love and may they never experience what I
experienced, they will not experience cancer, they will not experience any
challenge that will test their faith in Jesus name.”
Blog with fury
wish you all the best.
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