”I actually died. I passed away for 7 Days” – First Lady Patience Jonathan Talks About Health Condition

First Lady, Patience Jonathan, on Sunday opened up on her controversial medical trip last year, admitting for the first time she ailed terribly and was close to dying.

Mrs. Jonathan, who spoke at a special thanksgiving service at the Aso Rock Chapel where the first family worships, said she underwent multiple surgical operations and at some point her doctors lost hope after she "passed out for more than a week."

However, yesterday at a thanksgiving service held at the
Presidential Villa, she finally revealed how a debilitating
sickness almost took her life saying that she passed out
for over seven days and that her aides, believing that
she was dead, were already selling her personal effects
before God "miraculously" brought her back to life.my source reported that she did not reveal the nature of her
ailment but spoke about some of the things she passed
through during that period.
"I remember when Chief (Olusegun) Obasanjo was the
President of the country, I was close to his late wife,
Stella. We worshipped together in this chapel. It was a
painful moment for me that time when she died and
her corpse was brought here. That was how my corpse
would have been brought here. It was not an easy
experience for me. I actually died; I passed out for
more than a week. My intestine and tummy were
opened.
"I am not Lazarus but my experience was similar to his
own. My doctors said all hope was lost. A black doctor
in London who is with us in this service was flown in
when the situation became critical. It was God himself
in His infinite mercy that said I would return to Nigeria.
God woke me up after seven days.
"I know that some people somehow leaked the
information that I was dead. They are people that I
trust and rely on; to them, I was dead and I would
never return to the country alive. Some of them even
sold my things off. I won't say everything here. It is the
Lord's doing that I returned alive. When God says yes,
nobody can say no.
"People are always afraid of operation (surgery) but in
my own case, while my travail lasted, I was begging for
it (surgery) after the third operation because I was
going to the theatre every day. It was God who saw me
through. I did eight or nine operations within one
month. It was not an easy one."
She said her experience taught her that there was
nothing like a First Lady and that she realised that she
was "a common woman and my name is simply
Patience." President Goodluck Jonathan who spoke at
the reception after the thanksgiving service said that he
lost a second cousin while he was still a deputy governor
in Bayelsa State and that during the burial, a story was
told how anybody in his community who is gradually
going into limelight always die mysteriously. Following
this, he said all eyes were focused on him, apparently
insinuating that it was his time to die, Punch reports.
"The story was that one of us (the President or his wife)
will die. Today we are celebrating her. Her recovery
has put an end to that belief. I am not too good in
celebrating, but for this particular one, I think we have
to thank God for keeping the life of my wife.
"If anything had happened, there would have been
different stories. Fake prophets would have given their
stories. As mortals, we must fall sick and die but how
and when is what matters most. To die when serving
your people is not good. Death should come after you
have finished serving."
The first lady was away between August and 14th
October 2012. When she returned, she denied having a
cosmetic surgery or tummy tuck as was widely
speculated and since then, has been silent about her
absence until yesterday.