A young Namibian paramedic in the making said nothing can stop one from achieving goals and succeeding in life, as long as you can. After a gruesome accident, she decided to take a career path worth pursuing to save lives.
“I just wanted to do something important. Something that makes me happy. Having the ability to assist and help people who are in need or discomfort,” said Wilka Anghuwo, a 24-year-old first-year paramedic student at Atlantic Training Institution.
It was on a fateful day, 30 April 2017 when she was involved in a terrible car accident that nearly took her life but instead left her leg fractured with broken pieces of bones and torn pieces of flesh. “I honestly don’t remember what happened or how it happened,” she explained.
Anghuwo said her leg was severely crushed and nearly got amputated. “I was losing a lot of blood, I was in a lot of pain and I cried for the doctor to cut off the leg. It was a tragic situation for my family members as they were not present at the hospital and they nearly agreed on the amputation,” recalled Anghuwo.
After she gained her alertness back and became conscience, she could hear the nurses and doctors contemplating on cutting her leg. “I broke in tears. I felt my world was coming to an end. Orthopaedic surgeon doctors that were on duty that night saved my leg. One happened to be a specialist. They decided to fix my leg and if they fail, they would be left with no choice but amputate me. I felt relieved that at least they won’t amputate me,” reminisced Anghuwo.
Applying for paramedics was not easy for Anghuwo as one is expected to be very active.
“First of all, I can’t run nor can I carry anything heavy. For some times I used to think I will never be of use, with screws in my ankle and a lost inch of the fibula bone,” she told Youth Corner.
She said with a high rate of accidents in the country, paramedics are lifesavers on road threatening situations. “Medics are the first medical responders to an emergency on the roads,” stated Anghuwo. Her principle in this era is “You create the life you want and you have a choice of who to keep around you”, and that’s one of the principles that helped her cope through the whole process of healing.
She hopes to inspire young Namibians to always go for what they want despite their current circumstances.
-psiririka@nepc.com.na