THIRTEEN years ago on December 10,2005 a Sosoliso plane carrying more one hundred Nigerians, including students crash-landed at Port Harcourt International Airport,Killing 107 passengers.
Fortunately, Kechi Okwuchi was one of the two survivors on board that day.
In a recent interview, the 2017 America’s Got Talent finalist who have had over 100 surgeries due to injuries and burns, opened up about the outcome of the crash and how it has affected her life.
Since surviving the plane crash, you have had a lot of surgeries, are there likely to be more?
The way things are right now, I am in a place where if there are more surgeries that would benefit me by improving any functions that I am having issues with, I am open to such. I have no problems with undergoing various surgeries but if I have to live my life this way, then I am ready.
In what specific ways did that accident change your life?
One important way that tragedy has changed my life is that it has afforded me the opportunity to meet many amazing people from around the world, which may never have happened if I wasn’t involved in the incident. I wouldn’t trade anything for this amazing people I have met over this period. The incident is more like a blessing in disguise.
Are there people who categorize you as being physically challenged even though you only have burn scars on you?
There are many people like that. When some people see me, they hardly believe that I’m without any sort of physical limitation. Personally, I am glad that the burns didn’t cause me a kind of disability. I didn’t break a bone or a finger. I am grateful to God for this. I was 16 when the incident happened, so the tragedy took the best part of my teenage years. I just jumped somehow from 16 to 20 years of age.
If you are given the chance to make one wish, what would that be?
My wish would be to be able to speak every language in this world.
It’s been several years since that tragedy, would you say you have fully recovered from the trauma?
I have been relieved from the trauma, but not completely over it. The incident is something I cannot forget. Every single day is a memory for me. As long as I am happy and doing well in life, I think I would get to that point. I usually ask myself “do I really want to forget it” because it is the memory of the incident that drives me on in life. Can you ever board a local flight in Nigeria again? Actually, I have flown on local flights on my two visits to Nigeria after the incident. I had no reason to fear or panic.
Are you considering marriage already?
Not at the moment and I am not actively searching also because marriage isn’t something one should hurry into. However, if I find someone interesting, I would be happy to get engaged and marry. I do not feel I am against time even though I am trying to catch up with a lot of things after the accident. But we can’t say what God has in plan for me.
Do you sometimes look at your childhood pictures, see how you used to look and feel bad about the way you are now?
I actually don’t get to look at my pictures before the accident, but when I come across them, I just smile and say “wow” to myself. I admire my slim figure in those pictures and not how my skin used to look.
Do you still remember how the sad incident happened?
I wasn’t conscious for the whole time but I remember that everything was normal when the plane took off and suddenly it went into turbulence. Even at that, nobody panicked because that was a normal thing on air. But when the turbulence persisted, panic set in. I remember sitting in my chair and thinking about what was happening at that moment. I couldn’t overcome the shock of experiencing what I used to see in movies. The last thing I remember was holding hands with my friend who sat beside me before everything went blank. It was a terrible experience but I thank God for sparing my life.
From Punch
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