The Influence: The co-passenger, the patient.

I largely accept this quote made in the post - let no man imagine that he has no influence, whoever he may be and wherever he may be placed... The bio of my Facebook at a time stated: for a better me, a better you and a better world I live and that in God. This summarizes my life and living - one influenced by others and influencing others. I feel like writing on all four options but I ll write on option one on how I positively influenced someone. Thank you @galenkp for this cerebral-stimulating and rewarding task.

I am a healthcare worker and I directly influence peoples health physically, mentally, and socially. I also influence people indirectly through acts of diligence, discipline, care and humaness. I want to share a story of how I positively influenced someone, someone's health, a passenger who later became my patient. One day during the doctors national industrial action (strike), I set out on an approximately 6 hours journey to travel to another city, Lagos. I left by 10am expecting to reach my destination before sunset.

(a snapshot along the expressway)

I boarded a bus at the park. I sat close to the door in the front passenger seat alongside another passenger, a young adult man in his early twenties. The journey commenced, there was traffic jam and frequent galloping due to bad roads at some early points in the journey. I had my earphone ona and listened to some songs while I enjoyed the view of the places we journeyed through. The co-passenger by my side, the young adult man fell asleep almost as the journey began. At some points, he just leaned on me as he slept. The traffic hold-up with the heat from the sun and a not too conducive vehicle made the journey wearisome. We by-passed the traffic on the expressway by going through some streets. Suddenly, the young man woke up, and told the driver to stop abruptly. I was on the alert already. My personality and professional training has made me to be observant and detailed, besides I don't even understand the local language there. I gave way for him and he quickly came down even without his footwear. At that point, I knew something was wrong - 'water don pass garri'. I noticed he staggered as he moved towards a group of people. He must have asked them to show him a restroom. As he moved further, he fainted. The people around immediately poured him water. I rushed towards his direction, requested that they stopped to pour water on him and made efforts to get him to the nearest hospital. Considering the bad roads and heavy traffic jam, a bike was the better and available option. I already had my face mask on, got my back pack from the bus just in case the driver continues his journey without coming for us and mounted the bike with him between the bikeman and myself. It was at this point I noticed he was not just wet because of the water on poured on him, he had also defecated and the water poured on him messed the whole stuff further. I guess he had an acute diarrheal disease. So many things was going through my mind. It took us about 15 minutes to locate the General hospital which was located in the outskirt of the town after we were referred from another health centre. The bike man really tried - he moved at the maximum safest speed.

We arrived at the hospital and faced the delays typical in a Nigerian hospital - getting a card, making payment, opening a folder and the likes in offices located some distances from one another. Since I was already used to this system, I did that quickly and got a doctor to see him asap because I had to use my work ID card at some point and in this clime that meant a lot. Its not supposed to be so but it is what it is for now and that fastened the response time of intervention for my co-passenger turned my patient. He was attended to and given some medications, we had a quick bath, change our clothes. The bus driver and other passengers located us at the hospital and they really appreciated my influence on the event. They already debated if I was a health care personnel or not. We continued the journey after about 2 hours delay and I arrived later than expected but I was happy I influenced someone by who I was and in where I found myself. I shared this with the family I went to visit and they were happy too. In the words of someone, I was his 'saviour' that day. Of course, he must have found help but I am happy the helpful influence came through me.

That was how I positively influenced someone. And I keep influencing people, especially positively. One of the big things I live for and live by - influence. Earlier on, I said I was tempted to write on all four options. At this point, let me drop excerpt from a write up I have done before where I wrote how I was influenced positively by someone

...He gave me a hot dirty slap slap. I broke down in tears and my emotion was at its nadir. At this point, my saviour (Snr. Mine) came in. I came to later know he was the Assistant School Prefect (ASP). He took me out of the prep hall, he consoled me and he gave me a kind of orientation...Other students and people I have come acrossed since then have been influenced positively by this nature reinforced by the ‘simple' act of one good man. This experience stands out for me amongst many others

and how I was negatively influenced too.

...On Saturdays we went for team fruit-hunting in the teachers quarters. Some of us will pluck the pawpaw and cashew fruits we obtained permission for while a few others will use their feet to twist-steal the pineapple fruit from its stalk. I was the small boy with the big bag then, my back was carriage medium

Here is the link to the write-up in case you 'ld want to check it out. It's a good read.

Today is Sunday. My weekend ended this morning. And here I am in the neonatal care unit influencing the health of this tiny humans and influencing their parents with hope and happiness. Cheers and do have a great week.