Being unable to walk and waiting for people to change your diaper as an adult after living a normal life can render life miserable, but such is what Christine Lungu, 30, has to endure for the rest of her life after a road accident.
It was supposed to be an enjoyable road-trip to attend her relative’s wedding from Lusaka’s Intercity Bus Terminus to Chisamba last year but it ended up being a life changing journey that left her lying motionless.
October 9, 2021 will forever remain on Christine’s mind because in a blink of an eye, her entire life changed on Great North Road and Chingwere Road junction at about 18:40 hours when a Rosa bus she was in was involved in a road traffic accident.
The bus had on board 29 passengers of which 18 people died while 11 passengers survived with fatal injuries.
Ms Lungu, of Kalikiliki, lost her mother in the accident while her two-year-old baby escaped unhurt. The aftermath of this accident has not only left her paralysed and with a damaged backbone but also abandoned and rejected by some of her own relatives.
Ms Lungu now depends on her husband and neighbour for survival, including bathing and feeding.
Because of the huge responsibility to look after his wife, her husband, Mr David Phiri, 42, had to quit his job as a driver at a named security company so that he could nurse his bedridden wife.