SisiBunmi: WHEN ANGELS CAME CALLING.

         
          WHEN ANGELS CAME CALLING

A friend of mine who has lived in Europe for many years and is well known particularly among the Nigerian community would often get stranded Nigerians referred to him as he was fluent in the local language and was always willing to help. One day as he was about leaving his office for a very important business meeting, two Nigerians came in and told him they had been referred to him as they had no where to sleep that night. My friend was in a hurry to drop his young son home and head for his meeting but being the kind hearted person that he is, he decided to take the strangers to the nearest Red Cross centre where they could be assisted.

When they arrived the Red Cross centre, they were informed that due to budget constraints they could only offer help and assistance to people with medical conditions. They therefore took the blood pressure of the two strangers and found them to be fine. They could not help them. My friends' young son who was watching the blood pressure tests being administered to the strangers asked that his dads' blood pressure too be taken. My friend was in no mood to waste any more time as the people he was having the meeting with were calling him on his mobile phone and threatening to cancel the meeting because he was running very late by now. He shrugged his son off, he had to leave for his meeting.

However, the little boy would not have it, he started to throw tantrum and insisting that his dad too must have the test. The nurse by this time felt it would be quicker and easier to just take my friends blood pressure and have peace from the little one!

The nurse took my friends' blood pressure and immediately had a puzzled look on his face. He took it again and again and again! He could not believe the reading. He went in and came back with five doctors who all hunched around my friend and took his blood pressure again. They all looked puzzled and stared at my friend in amazement. They asked him if he had any headaches, pain, anything at all? He replied that he felt perfectly fine. They told him he would not be attending any meeting that evening or any other evening for a while because his blood pressure reading was so high he was a 'walking dead man'!

From that encounter, my friend was hospitalized for three months! Apparently both his kidneys had packed up and he was put on dialysis immediately while he awaited a new kidney. Thankfully he received a kidney from a donor and the transplant operation went well, thank God, and he is back to full recovery. However, he must take a bunch of pills for the rest of his life to avoid infections etc.

Two angels were sent in to save my friend and because of his kindness and generousity, he was indeed saved. Most people would have turned the strangers away because they had an important meeting to attend. So when people come to you for help, don't turn them away too quickly with an excuse, see if you can help them even if it may inconvenience you some what, for you never know when the angels will come calling!

And also, please check your blood pressure regularly once you hit 40. When discovered early enough, it can be controlled and managed with drugs, diet and exercise. If left untreated for long, it causes major problems like kidney failure, heart problems, stroke and the list is endless. High blood pressure or hypertension is not a decease rather it may be a symptom of something about to go very wrong, so take good care and get your blood pressure tested often.

Ps: I am not a doctor neither do I have any medical training, but I know about the condition because I have been managing hypertension for a few years now. Also, the above story is real, it did happen to a friend of mine and I sought his consent to tell the story. If you have any valuable information or advise please post it on as comment.