Renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is breaking her silence, sharing a letter to Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital publicly alleging the hospital’s negligence in the death of her one-year-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi, earlier this year.
In a four-page letter shared on Instagram, the acclaimed author lists in painstaking detail her son’s final days, beginning with her initial conversation with a doctor who told her that her son received “too much Propofol,” to the delays Euracare employed in what she calls a “cynical game” to stall to give her and her husband a definitive answer about what happened to her son.
Propofol, according to the Mayo Clinic, is an anesthetic and a sedative typically given to patients before surgery. Nearly 20 years ago, the drug became widely known following the death of Michael Jackson. However, per the Mayo Clinic, use of propofol “to induce anesthesia in children younger than 3 years of age and to maintain anesthesia in children younger than 2 months of age is not recommended.”
“I wake up every single morning with my heart racing. Did this really happen?” she captioned her post. “My precious son, Nkanu Nnamdi. My KanKan, my diokpala. The ultimate and utter loneliness of grief is that only you can know the true depth of your despair. I long for, at least, peace to mourn, but Euracare Hospital has robbed me even of that.”
She continued, “I have decided to make this letter public because to keep silent about Euracare’s evil is to enable it. I do not want anyone mentioned to be personally targeted. I have erased two names and left two for clarity and credibility. Since the letter was sent in April, Euracare has become uglier.”
In her letter, Adichie suggests that her son died from a hypoxic brain injury caused by improper sedation, and on the child’s death certificate, falsely attributed his death to meningitis. Adichie also accuses the hospital of failure to provide complete or accurate medical records to her and her husband, attempts to obstruct an investigation by a coroner, which was previously initiated by the hospital itself, and the hospital referring to her son’s death as a “dispute.”
At one point, Adichie says a high-ranking official at the hospital threatened one of her family members with the guise of saying a hospital would do anything to win a court case, even drag Adichie’s name through the mud.
“This threatener does not know how fiercely we love our child. They can drag all they wish in the mud, but our quest for justice will continue. I am deeply grateful to all of the people from across the world who have genuinely wished us well. May you find comfort in your own time of need. Please continue to pray for us. This weight is too heavy.”
