Petite and of average height, Adenike Adebayo’s dream in life is by far bigger than what her small frame suggests. Soft-spoken and quick to share a smile, the 23-year-old, despite losing her legs at the age of five to a strange ailment, has not stopped aiming high. She has in fact managed to find her balance in life despite her difficult situation.

A native of Akure in Ondo State, Adebayo, currently a Higher National Diploma 2 student of Business Administration at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, was born like every normal child. Charming and full of promise, the young lady developed into a beautiful little girl in the years that followed her birth. Everything went on smoothly. There was no reason to suspect any danger ahead. But by the time she turned five, things took a different and disturbing turn. Her life has not remained the same ever since.

“I woke up one morning feeling pains all over my legs and crying,” the young lady began as she shared her story with Saturday PUNCH. “My mother told me that I was five years old then and that they had no idea I was in severe pains. Since I couldn’t fully express myself at that age, everyone thought it was a normal cry and that I’d soon keep calm. But I did not stop. The more pains I felt, the louder and harder I cried,” she said.

By the time the reason behind the constant crying was detected, it had become too late to save the situation. A strange ailment, according to her mother, Mrs Oluwasola Adebayo, had eaten deep into the girl’s tiny legs. Visits to several hospitals could not reveal what the problem was. She lives with the scars – a wound that will never heal.

“My legs had to be amputated to save my life,” she cut in sharply during the encounter with our correspondent, her voice going faint for a few seconds. “Though I was too young to understand what was happening to me then, I still can remember how I cried endlessly when I woke up at the hospital and couldn’t find my legs. It was a terrible experience but I had to accept my fate and move on in life.”

Accepting her new fate came with its own price. Apart from not being able to move around unaided as she used to do, Adebayo had her childhood hampered in no small measure. Unlike the other children her age, whose formative years were coloured with pleasant memories, hers were filled with heartbreaking experiences. According to her, the strange ailment stole her childhood.

“Watching the other kids run around while I couldn’t was a big pain for me as a child,” she said. “I wished to join them in playing all around the neighbourhood but there was no leg for me to do so. Losing that part of my body held me down in different aspects. It made my development as a child very tough,” she added.

According to her mother, who used to work as a cleaner at the Nigerian Television Authority, Ibadan, efforts to get a solution to her daughter’s predicament did not yield any result despite visits to several hospitals and churches. She said that the ailment got so bad that the girl was decaying while still alive. It got to a point that one of the legs fell off on its own, she revealed. It was at that point that they felt the situation was not ordinary.

“The fact that Adenike is still alive today is a miracle,” she said. “At the time this strange ailment gripped her, she started decaying. There was no where we did not go to look for a solution. It was later we were made to understand that the condition was more spiritual than physical. Doctors had to amputate the legs to save her life,” she revealed.

But while the loss of her legs at such early age held Adebayo down in several aspects, it couldn’t hold down her dream of becoming a success in life. Beginning her education at St. Mary Catholic Primary School, Aladorin, Ibadan, Oyo State, where she was raised, the 23-year-old was determined to break every barrier on her path as she took her destiny into her hands. Despite her disability, she never entertained any sort of fear. Instead, she pushed herself the more to achieve each target set for herself.

“Many people expected that I would never experience the four walls of a school as a result of my amputated legs. They expected that I would not have any dreams in life.

“In fact, there were people who mooted the idea that my predicament was a punishment from God and that I would never become anything good in life. There was nothing people did not say or predict.

“But as young as I was then, I never allowed those words to weigh me down. I was determined to be successful in all I was doing and also continue to develop myself in every aspect.

“Soon, I found the strength and courage to start doing things on my own despite not having legs. Also, in school, I did very well to the surprise of everyone. It perhaps showed how hungry I was for success,” she said.

A few years later when Adebayo enrolled at the Queen of Apostles Grammar School, also in Ibadan, she had become mentally stronger to face any type of challenges life threw at her. Despite her indigent background and the difficulty in moving from home to school, the young lady emerged as one of the brightest pupils in the school. For her, it was the beginning of greater things to come.

“Even though the finance to sponsor my education wasn’t really there, I knew I wanted to go further after my secondary school education,” she said. “My mother used to work as a cleaner at the Nigerian Television Authority in Ibadan, she didn’t earn much. There was no support from any quarters, so this made my dream of attending a higher institution almost impossible.

“But I thank God for her support, she did everything she could to ensure that I attended higher institution. Her support made it possible for me to get into the polytechnic.”

Now almost concluding her studies in Business Administration at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Adebayo has not had it easy finding her ways to and from school. The only prosthesis she has and uses has become too old that it can no longer support her weight. The item is causing her pain rather than alleviating it.

“A few years ago when the prosthesis was still good, I could stand and walk a few metres on my own unaided. But now whenever I put it on, it feels very uncomfortable.

“As a result of this, I am not able to move around freely and do the things I normally could for myself. If not for the help of my siblings and mother, life could have been much more difficult for me.

“There are times when I find it very difficult to get to school from where we live. Most of the commercial motorcyclists won’t want to carry me because of my condition. I would sometimes have to trek short distances to cover up some grounds while still looking for a means of transportation.

“Also, accessing lecture halls on campus has not been easy but my course mates have been very supportive in that regard. Each time that they are around, they assist me to easily move around on campus.

“But using the old prosthesis has been very stressful and painful for me. It is in fact causing me serious pain each time I use it. Since I don’t have any option for now, I have had to stick with it,” she said.

The young lady received the prosthesis as a gift from a group in 2008. She has relied on the item to pursue her dreams and hit her targets in life. However, she wishes kind-hearted individuals and organisations can help her acquire a new one. According to her, with a new prosthesis, she’ll be able to move around more easily and actualise her goals in life more quickly.

“If I am able to get the assistance of kind Nigerians to acquire a new and modern prosthesis, I’ll be able to overcome a lot of the barriers that I currently encounter.

“There are several occasions where I have had to forego certain appointments and events because I cannot walk properly in the prosthesis that I have now. If I try to move, the thing hurts so badly that I almost would be crying.

“I have dreams I am pursuing and working daily to achieve, without being able to move around, it would be much difficult for me.

“It has been tough surviving without proper funding to support me, my education and the things I hope to achieve. My mother has been the only one taking care of me and my siblings and I hope to put a smile on her face as soon as my plans begin to materialise.

“For now, I am concentrating on my education and not allowing any sort of distraction, including men to hold me down,” she said.

Now setting her sights on bigger things, Adebayo has been empowering herself with skills she hopes would make a big difference in the not too distant future. Apart from currently making beads and also learning other crafts to add to the knowledge acquired in school, the young lady is working towards becoming a successful entrepreneur. The 23-year-old hopes to create jobs for Nigerians, especially those with physical disabilities in the near future.

“My ultimate goal in life is to get to a level where I can help eradicate poverty in Nigeria,” she said. “I want to be able to create jobs and means of livelihood for Nigerians, especially people like me who have special needs.

“Many of them have skills but are not given the chance to express themselves because of their conditions. I want to be able to change that and show that despite our disabilities, there is much more value we can add to the society.

“My mother has suffered for us. She has been the only one we have since we lost our father several years ago. I wish to become something ‘big’ in life and put a smile on her face, too.

“I believe that with God on my side, I’ll achieve all my targets in life and make the world a better place,” she said.

Miss Adebayo needs N3m to acquire a new prosthesis. Kindly send donations to:

Name: Adebayo Adenike Dorcas

Bank: First City Monument Bank

Account nos: 5528960011