Plane Crash Survivor Finds New Friends, New Life at Shriners Hospital

Eighteen-year-old Kechi has been a patient at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Galveston since 2005, when she was severely injured in a plane crash. Prior to her accident she attended a boarding school in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. What should have been a happy trip home soon turned tragic.

One hundred nine people boarded a plane leaving Abuja in December 2005. Kechi, along with 61 other students from her school, was among the passengers going home for the Christmas holidays. She was looking forward to seeing her family and making plans to apply to the London School of Economics. Just before landing, the plane crashed, leaving only two survivors. With burns over 60 percent of her body, Kechi had little skin left on her abdomen, sides and back.

Kechi spent the next month in a coma. Her mother talked to her constantly about the crash, her injuries and assured her that she was going to be okay. “It was like a dream, but I could hear my mother. When I woke up, I knew what had happened – not from memory, but from my mother talking to me,” said Kechi.  She then spent six more months in a hospital in South Africa. During that time, the company that owned the hospital contacted the Galveston Shriners Hospital about Kechi’s injuries and the possibility of her receiving treatment there.

After becoming a patient at the Galveston Shriners Hospital, Kechi has undergone several medical procedures, including 47 skin grafts and nine surgeries for contractures and neck releases. Because she still has limited use of her hands, she has therapy at least three times a week. Kechi is working very hard to regain hand function and is looking forward to a bright future. “I think I will be in therapy for a long time, but that’s okay. I know without it, I will not get better,” Kechi said. She is also scheduled for more reconstructive surgeries to repair tissue on her neck and face.

Kechi’s mother, Ijeoma, and her sister, Tara, are with her in Galveston to give her support. She credits her family for her positive attitude and says they have been with her every step of the way. “They have really been my strength and my motivation,” said Kechi. Although her father, Michael, is still living in Nigeria, he comes to Galveston as often as possible.  

 “We are very thankful for the doctors and staff here; there is no other place like it in the world,” said Ijeoma. “These are just caring, happy people.”

Prior to the devastating crash, Kechi enjoyed swimming, dancing and reading. “She was a very outgoing, real people person,” said Ijeoma. Because of Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, I can see her blossoming into that girl again.”