In Memory of Dr. Mathew Lukwiya
In his final hours, he spoke to Sister Apio Anyai Angioletta, the paediatric nurse who had known him for years. She would later remember his exact words.
"Sister, things are worsening. I have tried to fight. The battle is almost over. Now I am seeing that I am also going. The time has come for me to go. That I know. I am going. But if I go, I will be at the doorway. Nobody is going to die now. I will tell my God that enough is enough."
Then he began to sing a hymn about war. Everyone in the room broke down. Sister Apio replied, "No, doctor, it will not be like that." But it was. On December 4th his breathing briefly stabilised. Later that evening his lungs began to haemorrhage. He died at 1:20am on December 5th, 2000.
He was buried at 4pm the same day. The coffin was sprayed with Jik bleach as it was lowered. Margaret asked if she could see him one last time and was refused. The body was considered too infectious.
He was placed in a grave he had chosen himself while he was dying, at the Grotto inside the hospital grounds, beside Dr. Lucille Teasdale and later Piero Corti. Teasdale had died in 1996 of AIDS, contracted while operating on an HIV-positive patient.
The student was buried beside his mentors.
And then something extraordinary happened. After Lukwiya's death, every remaining Ebola patient at Lacor survived. Not another single person died at the hospital. Sister Apio remembered the promise he had made on his deathbed: "I will tell my God that enough is enough." It is the kind of detail you would not believe if you read it in a novel.
By the time the WHO declared Uganda Ebola-free on February 6th, 2001, 425 confirmed and probable cases had been recorded, and 224 Ugandans had died, including thirteen health workers from Lacor alone.
The survival rate during the outbreak was nearly 50%, compared to as low as 10% in previous African outbreaks, largely because of the systems Lukwiya had built before anyone else even knew what was happening.
This is what the mainstream story leaves out. The intern who refused a teaching job in England. The doctor who walked into the bush instead of the nuns. The administrator who turned the hospital into a shelter for nine thousand people, most of them children, every night.
The Acholi son of a smuggler who topped his country in school, won the John Hay Prize at Liverpool, and still chose Gulu over everything else. By the time he made that final speech to his nurses, the heroism was already the entire shape of his life. The Ebola work only made it public.
Happy Heroes Day, Dr Matthew and all healthcare workers who sacrifice more than they should have to! #HeroesDay
# *Copied*
@drsportsmedia And what is Carrick doing here honestly, a guy who was as recently as last year was brutally sucked by Boro, n after some good results of half a season then kabooom , he is now big,wtf ๐
As a Senior Consultant, the reason I haven't raised my voice is simple:
When the interns are gone, I will gladly show up at 5AM, clerk 80 patients, draw the blood, and run the night calls myself.
I am superhuman. Obviously.
As a Senior Nursing Officer, the reason I am silent is obvious:
I have no problem running three wards alone, fixing lines, tracking vitals, delivering babies, doing the paperwork.
I don't need hands. I have dedication.
As a Policymaker, the reason I haven't spoken is elegant:
The interns are a budget problem I solved by terming the students.
My children are not doing internship in Uganda, after all.
As a Patient, the reason I haven't complained is clear:
Even if the doctor cutting me open has worked 36 hours without food, just cut me open and take the baby out.
Hunger sharpens the hands. Everyone knows this.
As a Citizen, the reason I am unbothered is rational:
None of my children is a medic.
I have my pastor.
The system runs on miracles. Always has.
This policy is brilliant.
Let's all stay quiet and watch the magic happen.
@AlabroElisha This is why I hate Barca, they robbed arsenal in the 2006 final and then this against Chelsea, I don't like that club for several reasons but these 2 especially,unlike real Madrid who have won their champions League finals all fairly
@jamesonen Fatboy buh with a smal brain,wen Joshua Baraka goes n puts up a good performance anywhere overseas,we celebrate him,wen spice from Jamaica was here recently many people were excited about her buh wen arsenal win a title n fans celebrate,t becomes sijui neocolonialism,fck off man
@CultonScovia Gwe nawe totutร ma u can't even afford a car buh the self importance u r exuding is becoming unbarable, if u can't bare with it then please try flying idiot
@DKBSTalk@cityreport_@talkSPORT So these whimps wanted tuchel to have a squad with 10 10s, if u were in tuchel's position, would you choose any of these over Bellingham, Eze or Morgan Rogers