Ajibade Omape We speak to Catherine Ofte, a 38-year-old mother of two whose career in nursing and midwifery came to a halt after she developed lymphedema in her legs.
can Please tell us a little about your childhood and education.
My name is Mrs. Catherine Ofte. I am from Benue state and she is 38 years old. My tribal name is Idoma and I currently live in Abuja with my children. I was born and raised in Jos. I did all my education in Jos and lived there until I moved to Abuja in 2012 and have lived in Abuja ever since.
Life with my family wasn’t the best. I lived in a family where I always had to seek attention and love. As a child, I was not used to speaking openly, so every time I saw an uncle who could speak, I sometimes questioned my parentage. I come from a family of 6 people. I am the fourth of five children and we are Catholic. I went to St. Paul’s Anglican Private School in Jos and then to Girls’ High School and when I moved up to JSS3 three years later, there were a lot of problems and I had a really hard time coping with the boarding school. School life was so difficult that my father had to change my school to another one.
I continued my secondary education at Methodist High School, Jos from the second semester of JSS3 until I graduated in 2003, but unfortunately in the same year my father transferred me from Girls High School to Methodist High School. was. In 1999 he passed away. I went to nursing school in Plateau State and then to Our Lady of Midwifery School in Jos State and started working a little after graduating from nursing school to pay for my midwifery tuition.
My father had just been promoted to the position of Deputy Superintendent of Police during the (Oluusegun) Obasanjo administration and was supposed to lead a team in Jos and be in charge of many operations, but suddenly his sons made him ill. They broke it down and brought it home. I told his mother that I was going to take him to a family hospital called Atlas in Jos. His father rarely got sick, so our illness was unusual.
He recovered a bit, but then things got weird. He always wanted people to be happy and wanted to meet all his friends. He was unusually generous with money and would go out in the morning and come back in the evening and have conversations with us about the people he had visited and what had happened that day. We were scared and prayed. And her mother had to ask her company for permission to take time off to spend time with her father. One day, as soon as she was taken to the hospital, she passed away.
In your social media posts, you mentioned that your career as a nurse collapsed in 2018. What caused that?
As an adult, I suffered from monthly menstrual cramps, always had them, and had to be hospitalized every time I had a period. She underwent tests at the hospital and was told that she had adhesions in her uterus and that it was due to the way she gave birth the previous time. After returning from a trip in 2014, I felt unwell and rarely responded to treatment. The doctor at the hospital called a specialist in Abuja to review all my test results. The doctors told me I was pregnant, but they weren’t sure. I was on the go on various trips and a scanner was brought into my room and it turned out I was 12 weeks pregnant. But the main reason my career stopped was because my leg swelled and I couldn’t move. The effect was so great that even commercial bicycle riders laughed when they saw the weight of my legs and said, “I can’t move.” Carrying such a heavy person. At first, my feet grew larger and eventually I had difficulty moving from home to work and other places.
When did you notice your feet swelling?
The swelling started in the wound on my left leg. He had never been injured before, but suddenly a boil developed on his leg and started forming on his other legs. The real cause was the femoral catheterization performed on me on the day of my emergency C-section. Our second child was born in 2016. No veins were found and my pregnancy was about 31 weeks too early for the baby to be born. At the time, I was the head nurse at the hospital, and the medical team held a meeting that resulted in a femoral catheter procedure to gain easy access to a vein and save my life.
I realized this in 2018, and since then I have stopped going to work. After I took sick leave and didn’t recover, my employer sent me a letter of resignation. The doctors did their best, but the pain kept me on sedatives and I was constantly taking painkillers until I became addicted.
Are you blaming someone else for your health problems?
Yes, I think that’s a mistake. Initial scans in 2018 revealed a blockage in the femoral artery. When her husband died in a car accident in 2017, I suffered a partial stroke, so I believe it was due to a mistake by the doctor who inserted the femoral catheter, which led to a blockage of the femoral artery. I’m also going to blame myself for my health condition and addiction to painkillers, but I’m going to stop doing that because in 2021, my girlfriend’s mom brought an herbalist to her house to cure me. I did.
The man came three times, bringing very hot water and leaves to wash my wounds, and took out broken bottles, rusty nails, mirrors, and hair from my feet. In the meantime, my health deteriorated. However, the herbs he gave me were poured into my bath water, and the herbs that got into my wounds further infected them. I would say all of that made my injury worse.
Can you tell us about your marriage, husband, and family?
I got married in 2015. Her husband was a banker and marketer at the defunct Diamond Bank. I have two children, both girls, 20 years old and 7 years old. My husband was in a car accident on his way to take his mother to see her grandson. Her mother survived the accident, but she is currently mentally unstable. Her husband didn’t make it for me, but I only recognized him by his wedding ring because it was customized and had my name on it.
How has your family been doing since your illness?
It was very difficult. I haven’t worked in years. My daughters are not currently attending school. My older child cannot take the UTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination) form because he cannot afford the school fees. I get help from my friends, but not that many people. My family consists of only two daughters. My family, on the other hand, was very far away. My doctors say they can help me wherever I am. But my family accused me of ghosting them because of all this and called me a liar, a cheater, and a manipulator. My brothers are asking me to go back to Jos to take care of me but I know they are just being hypocritical.
Are your siblings aware of your situation? How did they support you?
My brothers know about my health condition. To be honest, I don’t like talking about them considering how I feel. I just want to fully recover and face them. It’s the direction and advice from my therapists because they feel my constant complaining and bitterness towards them slows down my healing process and drains me emotionally.
I can tell you that my brother is with me here in Abuja, but the last time I saw him was in 2022. I remember one of my brothers gave me 10,000 naira to support me. They were telling people that I had asked for money for family matters and that I had done it just to tarnish their reputations, and all these allegations that I had asked for money for things related to my family. I said it was because I wanted to, and my sponsor happened to be my sister’s. I originally wanted to remain anonymous, but I think that’s just an evil act. My doctor says the same thing. The house of prayer is also telling me to stay away from there. I just want to get back on my feet and get my career back. My friends helped me financially, along with my colleagues from nursing school who donated cash for me. However, former colleagues have also accused me of fraud.
Have you experienced any discrimination because of your condition?
To be honest, I have faced a lot of discrimination, but it’s nothing new. It started long before I came to Abuja, when my foot just started to swell. I faced discrimination at work, and even Okada riders in the market were laughed at, saying, “I have big legs, so I can’t convey my feelings on a bike.” The stigma was too great. I want to get back on my feet and get my life back to normal.
How many surgeries have you had so far?
I had surgery on my right leg, but I’m glad it went well. As I mentioned earlier, this event was hosted by her sister’s former host who insisted on meeting me after several attempts to see me getting irritated with her sister.
How has your condition affected you mentally?
Yes, I have attempted suicide several times, but it is hard to imagine that my children will suffer if I leave them alone in this evil world. I have faced discrimination almost everywhere. My siblings are acting like I’m okay even though my condition is very bad.
How do you receive support?
I’m trying, but I’m someone who rarely tells people what’s wrong with me, so not many people know what’s going on with me. My friends are doing the best they can and I know everyone has some issues. After her husband passed away, it was just me and the girls. The only major support I got was from my sister’s ex, who was shocked to see the condition my children and I were in.
Given your health challenges and experiences, what goals do you have for the future?
I’d like to start over. We want to raise awareness for people suffering from lymphedema (lymphedema is a long-term chronic disease that causes swelling in the body’s tissues. Although it can affect any part of the body, It usually occurs in the arms and arms). leg. (occurs when the lymphatic system does not function properly), start foundation if possible. I want to be a role model for many people, including children. My children don’t deserve what they are going through because of my health condition. I want them to achieve success that will make them forget their past struggles and reach even greater heights. For now, I’d like to start a baking business while I wait for my wounds to fully heal and my strength to return to work. I love cooking, baking, and braiding hair, and I’m very good at it. At least we’ll have a little food on our table.
Do you still want to return to nursing or midwifery?
Yes, it’s my passion and I’m very good at what I do. I miss you so much. And the last job he managed to get despite the low pay was three years ago. But that’s not the case for me as I practice. It’s all because of how I was treated and how I was denied opportunities.
What kind of support do I need?
I want to get back on my feet. I want to achieve perfect health. To do this, you will need a home and sterile dressing materials (so that you can dress your wounds regularly). She taught her daughter how to bandage wounds and we do it together. Proper diet is necessary to ensure muscle regain. And finally, you need to start small. All of this will get me back on my feet so I can go back to work and start fulfilling my responsibilities as a mother.
