UNIZIK 90th Inuaguaral Lecture: Ex-VC’s wife shares bitter experience with patients as doctor

By Praise Chinecherem

Prof. Gladys Ahaneku, wife of immediate past Vice Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Prof. Joseph Ahaneku has said that her worst experiences as doctor were situations of having full knowledge of patients’ life threatening ailments but medically incapacitated to save such lives.

She said such experiences were more heartbreaking when the dying patients were disappointed after looking up to the helpless doctor for intervention.

Ahaneku spoke at the 90th inaugural lecture of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University while delivering lecture on “The Human Heart: A Workaholic with Numerous Saboteurs,”

She identified ignorance, socio cultural, religious and economic indices as human limitations and inadequacies which she referred to as saboteurs and heart breakers encountered by doctors while attending to patients.

Narrating her bitter experience years back with a 19-year old man with marfan syndrome, Ahaneku, a Professor of Medicine and Consultant Cardiologist, regretted how she lost the patient out of socio cultural problems despite her efforts to save his life.

She said, “The lanky male secondary school leaver was in apparent state of stable health until he woke up one night to urinate and returned to bed with chest pain, progressive weakness and breathlessness.

“He was brought to hospital the next day and I was called to review him. The striking typical habitus and complementing classical features I found on quick physical examination tied to findings on echocardiogram and ECG confirmed that he had Marfan’s syndrome (a congenital condition) with aneurysm of his aorta which ruptured and was bleeding internally.

“Given his steady but gradual deterioration which suggested that the bleeding seemed to be gradual rather than massive, his mother was counselled and advised to take him to a centre in this country where surgical intervention could be given to give him a chance for survival but she said they could not afford such.

“On coming to see him the next day in accident and emergency department, the patient looked at me and in tears said, “Doctor, please, do not allow me to die”.

“I left that site with very deep concern and made up my mind to help him with the surgery even if it meant going plate-in-hand to beg for money on his behalf.

“I contacted a centre wheresurgical intervention could be offered. The team assured me the needful could be done with me as surety and the bill could be paidatmy convenience.

“In excitement, I invited the mother to the office and encouraged her to prepare to take his son to Abuja for intervention while announcing to her with elation, my willingness to bear the cost of the surgery.

“To my greatest disappointment, I saw in her, no evidence of emotional attachment to the boy and no excitement about my supposed “philanthropy” to them. I got disheartened by her question, “But, doctor who will stay with him in that Abuja?”

“She explained that she had him in her father’s house before she got married and didn’t want anything that would take her away from Anambra so as not to quarrel with her husband.

“The rest is history as that boy died by the third or fourth day. Obviously, socio-cultural problems affect possible outcomes of health problems in developing countries like ours.”

Earlier, UNIZIK VC, Prof. Charles Esimone described the topic as timely and indispensable, saying inuaguaral lecture was opportunity for the town to understand and appreciate activities of the gown as well as its influences on the town, directly or indirectly.

He said, “The heart is a topic nobody can run away from, whether male or female, old or young, because the heart of the matter is the heart of the issue.

“The inuaguaral lecture is a meeting of the gown and town to understand and appreciate what the gown has been doing and how it influences the town directly or indirectly.

“It’s an opportunity for the inuaguaral lecturer to convince the audience on her professorial authenticity. Today, Prof. Ahaneku, a cardiologist expert, will tell us the numerous heart saboteurs.

“Besides, today is the 90th inuaguaral lecture. I recall that when I took over as VC, we were barely at the 43rd. What it means that in 4years plus of my tenure, we’ve doubled the number of the inuaguaral lectures.

“It’s a credit I don’t want to share alone. I want to share the credit and glory with inuaguaral lecture committee, headed by Prof. Richard Uwakwe and his team. I must thank them specially.

“As we’re taking the glory, we’re giving you the credit for their duggedness and innovations that have sustained the series so far, including the increasing online audience who are evaluating us.

“All these have contributed immensely to the boosting ranking we’ve recorded, from 34th to number 4th position in Nigeria.”