Here was how it happened.
The Denial
There was a knock on the door. Scrambling out of bed, Lola went to the door to check. Who could it be she wondered. The kids were asleep in their room upstairs, she was on her 5 day leave, and she had made sure she didn’t inform anybody of it. It was a time she planned to spend with her 3 and 5 year old Children, and ofcourse have her “me-time” too.
“Who is there?” she called out. No response. She moved to the window to get a good view of who could be at the door. Standing there were two women, turning into the house, she quickly scanned her memory to see whether or not she knew them. She looked back out the window. This time around she saw that one of them was wearing a tag. Her subconscious told her to open the door, after all, its broad day light, her other self told her otherwise; to pretend that she did not hear them, with time they would go away, after all this is Lagos o, and anything can happen. She sighed. She just wanted peace, and sleep. Oh well. She moved to the door.
This time there was another knock on the door, before the second one could sound she opened the door.
“Good afternoon”. The woman said.” Afternoon Lola replied. Now looking at them both inquisitively
“My name is Mrs. Ojomoh, and this is my colleague Tope Adebiyi, we are from the Ministry of Health. We are here for the house-to-house visits on routine oral polio immunization for Children between the ages of 3 and 5.
The Mistake
“Do you have children of this age range”? The woman asked. Looking a bit more alert, oral polio? Children? Have they been trailing her? I mean those were the exact ages of her Children. She assessed them now properly.
The first thing that came to her mind was a denial! But then something told her to calm down. So she answered. Well yes, but they are deeply asleep right now. Strangers’ giving her children God knows what. Heck no! She thought to herself. As a child growing up, her own mother had always outrightly refused such visitations.
“Hello ma”. The woman who introduced herself as Mrs. Ojomoh called out.
She snapped back to life. The woman opened her mouth to say something, but Lola cut her off “Well I have 3 and 5 year olds respectively. But they are both sound asleep right now as I earlier mentioned. She said non-chalantly. Her mind was made up. She wasn’t allowing her kids to take it. But she as well did not want to make it obvious.
“It’s alright Mrs…? Adebayo Lola completed it for the woman. As they were about leaving she saw her neighbor, Walked up to them.
She greeted her, and then thanked the women extensively. By now they were already about to walk out of the gate. Lola walked to meet Mummy Semilore. “Why did you thank them”? Were your kids given as well? “Ofcourse now, in this part of the country it is advisable to, and almost all the kids in the neighborhood did collect as well” she further explained.
“We all have been outside for the past 40 mins, I did call your line though, you weren’t picking” Lola now looking tensed “Oh shoot!” Lola thought. She ran past Semilore’s mum after the women.
Mums take every given opportunity to immune your child. Build their immune system. As they say Health is wealth.
