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Although we lived in a small bungalow with my grandparents, I knew something was wrong with mum.
Everyone treated her with extra care and whenever she went crazy, grandma would take a bottle of holy water and sprinkle it in mum's room. This worked somehow as mum calmed down immediately the water touches her.
Dad visited once in a while to see me. He had a kind of fear for mum. People say the big scar on his head was a result of mum's actions. She hit him with a flower vase.
My people are good at stigmatizing people. They call me "omo were" which means "child of the mad one". That doesn't get to me. What gets to me is that no one wants to marry me.
Whenever I tell them about mum, they break up whatever we have.
They say madness runs in the blood. Could that be true? Would I get mad when I give birth to my child? Will my life turn out like mum's and then I get to stay with grandma and grandpa or with mum? Are my cursed or what?
Life changed when I met Tunde. He didn't even grin when I told him about mum. He laughed about it and told me I was not nice enough. I hated him when he told me his aunt had the same medical case but was free now.
I thoought in my head, for once I met someone who doesn't hate me for my mum but wants me but wants to raise a generation of mad people.
Truth is I didn't have proper education so I knew little. Grandma and Grandpa were not rich people and dad was just a local mechanic.
We lived in a mentally and financially poor community so mum's case was seen as madness.
Mum gave birth to me on the floor in the living room with seven candles around her. Since dad was poor, she hardly ate a good diet prior to my birth.
She was malnourished, depressed and stressed. She was subjected to the tradition of giving birth in the house to show she is a strong woman.
Things went out of hand and then she had PPD. Tunde was from an educated family so his aunt's case was attended to by specialists.
Tunde enlightened me and helped mum get a psychiatrist. Mum was away for 3 months and she was as calm as I had never seen her. She spoke calmly and related well with everyone.
Tunde's aunt visited mum every month with gifts and for the first time since I had known mum, she had a friend she was fond of asides me.
Tunde was my heaven sent angel.
Sadly, dad couldn't reunite with mum because he had another wife.
Tunde's aunt did some magic and soon mum started moving about dressed in beautiful attires. People didn't even recognize her as she had been indoors for 20 years.
Only people on our street knew her. Most of them avoided walking in her path even though she bit no one.
God bless Tunde and his family for showing so much love and for being my saving grace.
I just gave birth to my first son and I didn't go crazy. Mum takes care of Ola whenever she comes visiting. She even buys gifts for him and gists with Tunde's mum.
Life they say is full of surprises. Tunde is my everlasting angel and I will never forget him.
Women with PPD are not under a curse or spell. Let's spread the word out to people all over the world especially in Africa.
Every woman deserves pre-natal and post-natal care.
Let's create the awareness by sharing this story with others.
I'm making a come-back effort on steemit so, kindly encourage me with your comments. I'll be forever grateful.
P.S. I'm a rookie writer attempting fiction in the African way. Kindly share your ideas and corrections with me. I'll be glad to learn from you. Thanks
