DAlawode

While we were young, we grew up idolizing activists and critics as heroes. They shaped policies through activism, rather than through intellectual engagement or capability. TV stations and newspapers interviewed them on every topic, including subjects far outside their areas of expertise. This is one of the reasons that era failed. I acknowledge their contributions to social justice, but activism alone rarely develops a country. Innovators, founders, researchers, and entrepreneurs do. The new generation is toeing the same line by hero-worshipping overnight social media activists. Unlike our time, there is now a very low barrier to entry for activism, requiring only a ring light and cheap data. There is a distinct difference between protesting a broken system and building a working one. When a society elevates critics over creators, it risks getting trapped in cycles of grievance without progress.

When a person slumps, it is a cardiac arrest, and brain damage starts to happen within 5 minutes, and death can occur within 10 minutes. I remember when I used to work in a hospital in VI, a young man came in the middle of the night, around 2:00 am, June 2013, or so. He just told me that he felt tired and sweaty with a little chest pain that started while he was watching TV before he went to bed. There was no sign of a stroke. His speech was clear, his face was normal, and he had no weakness on either side of his body. I just knew he was having a heart attack. I did not panic. I called the nurses and ordered an ECG, samples for cardiac markers, E, U, Cr, RBS, and sublingual nitroglycerin. The ECG showed a classical STEMI. I reviewed the ECG with our Chief of Cardiology, our Cardiology mummy. There is no time you call her that she would not answer, but you have to be on point, or else you would spend the rest of the month thinking of your life choices. I called another hospital on Idowu Martins, gave them the necessary information, and told them he needed to be in the Cath lab as fast as possible. I went back to the guy, shook his hand, and wished him good luck. There was zero panic. My hospital was on Idejo, and the ambulance transit time was roughly 3 minutes. At Idowu Martins, he had his procedure and he survived. He went to the UK later for further checks. He came back to my hospital after about 6 months in the UK, but I had left the facility. They gave him my number, and he called me, and we talked and laughed on the phone. I am sure he is somewhere today enjoying his life. A heart attack can be salvaged; a cardiac arrest is most times irreversible, especially in this part of the world. Even when reversed, it usually leaves the person in a vegetative state with severe brain damage. The signs of a heart attack can be subtle. The person can be fine, go to bed, and not wake up. Check your blood pressure, have your annual health check, and don't ignore warning signs.