Death strikes again! Citizen TV's Yvonne Okwara mourns deaf-blind brother

Piece by: Caren Nyota
Lifestyle

Death is cruel. It's a dark day for Citizen TV Yvonne Okwara and her family.

She has lost her deaf-blind brother Albert Okwara.

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She took to social media to share the sad news and her message read;

I've lost my beloved brother! A few years ago, I gained the courage to speak about his disability and our family's long journey with him. So many of you reached out to me and were kind and empathetic! I thank you. My journey with Albert Okwara is now over, at least in this realm. He left us as peacefully and as quietly as he lived his entire life. My heart is broken, but my memories are full. Goodbye, my beloved Albert! Fly with the angels.

In another post-Okwara described her brother as a great man.

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Not so long, Yvonne opened up about her brother living with disability and her story moved many to rears. In an interview with a local Magazine, she said:

 ALBERT OKWARA WAS BORN CLOSE TO 50 YEARS AGO. HE IS DEAFBLIND. AND YES, IT IS ONE WORD. NOT DEAF AND BLIND! I TALKED TO THE TRUE LOVE WRITER ABOUT THIS WITH NO HESITATION AT ALL. IT WAS REFRESHING AND SCARY TO SAY THIS ON SUCH A PUBLIC PLATFORM. HAD NEVER BEEN THIS OPEN ABOUT IT. WHAT FOLLOWED WAS GREAT SUPPORT FROM READERS AND ALSO LOTS OF PEOPLE JUST THANKFUL THAT SOMEONE ELSE WAS LIVING WITH THIS IN THE FAMILY AND WAS SPEAKING UP ABOUT IT. HOWEVER, I WASN’T READY. PERHAPS, SELFISHLY SO, BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCE. I HAVE GROWN A LOT SINCE THEN AND APPRECIATE THE PLATFORM I HAVE TO SPEAK UP, SHARE MY (AND MY FAMILY’S) JOURNEY, IF ONLY TO GIVE SOMEONE HOPE.

'Let me start at the beginning. In the 60s, while expectant, my mother contracted German Measles. It has no symptoms. By the time she was giving birth to her first born son, there were complications. Mental retardation, and deafblindness started to set in. She tried everything, no door was unknocked, multiple surgeries, consultations. She talked to every doctor in the country. All of them, including, the professors, told her they had travelled far and wide and had NEVER seen anyone like my brother. That he would not live beyond his 5th birthday. Or his 10th. Nor his 12th. Albert Okwara is still here! 50 years later! What a journey it has been. Friends have fallen along the way, those that could make the choice did so and exited our lives. Called it a curse. To the entire community! I won’t name names but he knows himself!

The world of disability is a lonely one! The road has been lined with tears, pain, dashed hopes. But it has also had wonderful lessons that have made me who I am today! Let me explain, Albert is deafblind. He does not see, speak or hear. His perception of the world has been through his primary caregiver, his mother. My mother! We have cared for him, fed him, clothed him and bathed him for close to 5 decades now. Today the round-the-clock care continues. Many times I have asked myself how different life would be if he had just one of the senses. What would he say to me? About my work? Life choices? Wish he could have been the big brother to shield me from the bullies. Stand behind him when those people in my neighbourhood where I grew up said nasty things (you know who you are). Wished he could have walked me down the aisle. Instead, it was the other way around. I had to grow up fast. Be the ‘big sister’. I bathed him, clothed him and fed him and protected him from the world that has such high levels of ‘perfection’ that it shuns anyone who seems ‘less than perfect’. Sometimes I mourn my lost childhood but it was for a good cause. For a man who is pure. For that is what Albert is. He has seen no evil, heard no evil and uttered no evil. Literally! His soul is pure. No ill will. No malice. And that is why I will fight to the death for him. Sacrifice everything for him. It is my mother to whom I am forever grateful. She could have abandoned him. As some have done. She stayed with him. Nurtured him. Paid the price, sacrificed good jobs in the private sector, opting for a job in the civil service that had flexible hours to allow her care for ‘my son’ That is how she lovingly refers to him. She put all relationships aside because she did not want distractions from the job she believes was given to her by God! Through her I have seen the true meaning of unconditional love.

You see it is hard to love someone who can’t show you the love in return. Hard to care for someone who can’t say thank you. But it is a most rewarding experience. My mother has done it without ever tiring! Ever complaining. So why am I speaking now? Because I hope my story will help someone. I don’t have a plan yet for how I am going to use my voice to speak for those who can’t but I am finally brave enough to start with this one step.

To parents, siblings of persons with disability, stay the course. We have done it for 50 years. You can too. For those that judge mothers, walk a mile in their shoes first. To fathers who stand by their children with disability, I applaud you! For anyone who just wants to talk, I am here, if for nothing else, just to listen to you. I have been there, I know!

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