Nigerian relationship therapist Blessing CEO has shared an emotional account of the death of her second son, Brian, who dead from asthma-related complications while she was in prison.
According to her, the nine-year-old boy died in a hospital on Monday morning, June 8.
Recounting her son’s struggles with asthma, Blessing said the condition had affected him from childhood, often leaving him in and out of the hospital.
“Brian was asthmatic and very hyperactive. Since I gave birth to Brian, I’ve been in and out of the hospital. For four to five years of my life, it was just in and out of the hospital because he had chronic asthma,” she said.
She explained that her son could suffer attacks from sweating, cold weather, perfume and dust, adding that the family had done its best to manage his condition.
Recalling one heartbreaking moment, she said: “There was a day I was lying in my room and he was playing ball downstairs. Then he ran upstairs. I asked him, ‘Brian, what are you doing in the kitchen?’ He said, ‘Mommy, I want to bring water.’
“He drank the water and said to me, ‘Mommy, when will I stop playing and my chest will stop paining me?’”
Blessing also revealed that her son had reportedly told his elder brother, aunt and grandfather on separate occasions that he dreamt he had dead, although he never shared the experience with her.
Reflecting on his passing, she said: “I didn’t come out excited because I lost something that I couldn’t give up. But I came out knowing that wherever my son is, he wants to be proud of his mother.”
She urged mothers to take such conversations seriously and described Brian as a sweet, selfless and energetic child who was always willing to share with others.