I can't tell you how shocked I was when I interviewed this lady a couple of years ago, and even until this very day, whenever I read her story, I still get chills in my skin. It's such a crazy evil experience that she went through and I couldn't help but share it with the Mara family.
Even though I have had my personal share of
life's hard knocks and have many tragedy befallen me, I still marvel at the other
stories I come across daily, especially when I interview certain people and they
share their life's experiences with me, such as that of Mrs Ogunlade Francisca.
Stories like this just rekindles my hope, and I make sure I pass it on, because you never
know who may be having thoughts of giving up.
Mrs Francisca's story is
one that fascinates me a lot, ever since the day I got to hear her story, I've not
stopped to share it with people.
As someone who owns a platform where I
feature people who have proven results in what they do, I have interviewed numerous
people from all works of life who have been through all form of life challenges,
but I still marvel at how she was able to fight through and make meaning of her
life even when it all seem to be over.
So, here's Francisca's Story: ( and please share this with someone)
Francisca was doing extremely well in her career as a banker and was climbing really fast in ranks, until 2012. She recounted her story in a few words.
"Hmmm, I am a testimony
of Gods mercy and grace. I had gone to represent my area in the annual merit award
of the bank alongside two of my colleagues in Lagos. Our journey was what you can
consider smooth until we got to Badge (along Ondo road) and I slept off. I woke
up to the sound of wailing and tears all around me before I drifted back into unconsciousness.
I spent three weeks in the Critical Care Unit (CCU). The three
months that followed after the accident was spent in and out of the hospital.
What was funny was that I was 5months pregnant at the time. Strangely enough, I was positive about my survival and that of my baby. The very first test that I had to undergo was a quick scan and x-rays.
You can imagine my joy when the results came back and the doctor declared that my baby was alive and well. For the first 3 days in the CCU, I couldn't see anything. I only could recognise people by their voice.
While visitors were busy weeping anytime they came visiting because of how badly I looked, I was busy joking about my scars and injuries at the same time giving the people that came to visit me comfort.
For me, the
mere fact that I was alive was enough reason for them to be grateful to God and
happy. However, this didn't stop some visitors from bursting into uncontrollable tears, well before
you start thinking, It was really, really that bad!
On the fourth
day of my stay in the ICU, the bandages on my eyes were removed. I was scared
about my eyesight but God came through, I was able to see in a blur once they
removed the bandages. Oh well, you can imagine my joy and that of others who
were around me that day.
About the
10th day, the stitches on my face was removed. I had over 20 stitches in my
face alone and you could probably picture the world map in my face. I was devastated. Because, before the accident, I had a beautiful face but now my face was something else
and this rocked my world.
Well for me, life
must go on despite one's facial appearance, so I was still grateful to be
alive.
I healed
quite rapidly and on December 22nd, I told them I didn't want to spend the
holidays in the hospital. I wanted to go home to my family. The consultant wasn't
happy concerning the fact that I wanted to go home but I was resolute. He only agreed to let me go home under the conditions that I must be in the hospital four times
weekly for check-ups.
My schedule
was Monday- Surgical outpatient department, Tuesday - Antenatal, Wednesday- Eye
centre and Thursday- Ear, nose and throat. It was that crazy!
On the 23rd of December, I was eventually released to go home. The following week, I was scheduled to run a CT scan and again, I saw the hand of God. Because during the accident, I had a cranial injury and the result of the CT scan was that this fracture had aligned on its own.
Everyone who knew me knows I am an independent lady and it was very difficult for me to begin to depend on others but I didn't have a choice. I couldn't be more grateful to God for everything. The day I removed my cast from my leg, which was in February I was extremely happy because the itching I felt on my leg was out of this world.
I remember the second day my leg was placed in a cast, I felt itchy but I couldn't reach down to scratch it. I was literally almost going crazy and I burst into tears almost every moment.
I remember my sister in-law joining me to break down in tears and though my husband didn't break down, I could see his eyes was misty with tears and he was trying so hard to be a man. The day the cast was removed, I thought I was going to be able to jump down on my feet and start walking normally.
However, I was in for a great shock. I found out that I couldn't even stand on my fractured feet. The pain was unbearable and I was told by the doctor and technician that my leg was still healing and that I had to give it enough time.
At this time, I was
to still be on clutches for another two weeks. When I stood up to walk, the pains that
shot through me felt like 2,000 pins stuck into my body all at once. The walk
that day was the longest walk of my life but my husband and the surgeon supported
me and cheered me on. When I at last made it to the car, my body was shaking
from pain and exhaustion.
This singular experience showed me how much I was loved by God and it also made me realise that I just couldn't leave this world without impacting lives and imprinting my name in the sands of time.
It also strengthened my faith in God. That period made me come to a state of self discovery. It made me come to the realization that I and my daughter have been preserved for a purpose. When it was time for me to give birth to my daughter, I had an intense labour.
On the 3rd of May, after 30 hours, I was wheeled into the theatre for a caesarean session after it was discovered that I was not dilating properly. I shouldn't have stayed that long but things appeared as if they were progressing very well. I was placed on oxygen that day from 10am to 2pm.
It was an intense battle for my life because I was bleeding profusely. I was administered 11 doses of oxytocin before my blood could finally coagulate and clot and that was really high most especially when the normal dosage is supposed to 2.
This was all as a result of the fact that during my accident, my pelvis shifted and it didn't properly align before I could deliver my baby. Due to the complications I had, I wasn't discharged till after 7days and for 3weeks, the pains were unbearable. I was constantly lying down as any attempt that I made to stand or sit was an invitation of intense pains.
Thanks to my mum who was by my side all through making sure I
healed properly and also taking care of my daughter."
Now years have passed and it's a different story
entirely according to her, when she launched her first business, which is a diaper business in September 2014,
she had no idea it was going to be success but she had no choice, she had to do
it anyway because she was broke and neck-deep in debt, and on top of that, there is a baby to care for. Her Husband's income alone could barely cover for half their needs. So, Francisca had to start the diaper business with just 10,000naira. Luckily, 3months later (December 2014), she grew it to a 5 figure business, worth 200,000. It was a miracle!
She later launched another business known as (Valid Dreams), when she wanted to start Valid Dreams, it almost felt like a dead end. Eventually, the business had a kick off on January 30th, 2016 as a business mentoring session with 10 women in attendance, quite poor, unlike what she had envisioned for this new business.
However, that didn't stop her. Instead, this became a significant time in her journey of something new in her life.
In August 2016, she
eventually launched a book titled "How I built a 6figure diaper business
with 10,000naira'' and this launched her into a career in writing. Mid 2016, she
began an online platform known as PlanBHub which is an online academy and she kicked
off with a course/workshop titled "Create Extra Time for Extra Income". The workshop had 44people in attendance.
Now, Francisca has
successfully scaled up five business ideas. She is arguably one of the biggest event planner, still remains a banker, book author, and the owner of a chain of businesses, a wife & a mum.
You see, I've seen people who haven't been through a quarter of what she went through but yet are beggars on the streets waiting for someone to drop a penny in their hands. Yeah, they say life is dicey but is it possible to make the best of it?
What are your thoughts and comments on the beautiful story of Mrs Francisca Ogunlade? Kindly drop your comments below.
Cheers!
