How my son died at popular Lagos hospital – Chimamanda Adichie recounts horror tragedy

Renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has accused Euracare Hospital in Lagos of medical negligence following the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi, in a case now drawing the attention of the Nigerian Society of Anaesthetists (NSA).

According to ARISE News, Adichie’s media team confirmed that she issued a detailed statement describing the events that led to her son’s death. The statement was initially shared privately with family and close friends before becoming public.

Adichie said her son “would be alive today if not for an incident at Euracare Hospital on January 6,” where he was taken for an MRI scan and central line insertion ahead of a planned medical evacuation to the United States.

She explained that the family had been in Lagos for the Christmas holidays when Nkanu developed what was first thought to be a cold, which later worsened into a serious infection, prompting his admission at Atlantis Hospital. Plans were already made for him to travel to the US on January 7, with a medical team at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore ready to receive him.

The Johns Hopkins team reportedly requested an MRI and a lumbar puncture, prompting Atlantis Hospital to refer the family to Euracare Hospital, described as the most suitable facility for the procedures. The Nigerian medical team also decided to insert a central line in preparation for the flight.

Adichie alleged that her son was sedated with propofol to prevent movement during the procedures but was not properly monitored afterward. She claimed the anaesthetist administered an excessive dose, leaving Nkanu unresponsive.

“A short time later, I was told Nkanu had been given too much propofol by the anaesthesiologist, had become unresponsive and was quickly resuscitated,” she said.

She added that her son was then intubated, placed on a ventilator in the intensive care unit, and later suffered seizures and cardiac arrest.

“But suddenly, Nkanu was on a ventilator; he was intubated and placed in the ICU. The next thing I heard was that he had seizures. Cardiac arrest. All these had never happened before. Some hours later, Nkanu was gone,” Adichie said.

She further alleged that proper medical protocols were ignored and described the anaesthetist’s actions as criminally negligent, claiming her son’s oxygen was switched off and he was transported to the ICU without adequate monitoring.

Adichie also said the family later learned of previous incidents involving the same anaesthetist overdosing children, questioning why Euracare Hospital allowed the practitioner to continue working.

“This must never happen to another child,” she said.