Live to a Hundred

 (Pictured is D Day Veteran Harry Billing (This is not Mr C))

I recently met the amazing Mr C and had to share. The 77 year old ex- army man said to me, ‘I will live to a hundred’.
 Not many are  confident of their longevity so I became interested in this man and what he had to say. He touched no wood as he predicted the length of his days thus igniting my curiosity so I probed.

He gave me the short version of his CV.

At eleven years of age he was knocked off his bike by a speeding car and was uninjured.

Soon he was off to join the army and was shot in Egypt while guarding evacuees during the Suez Canal crisis of 1952. The left shoulder flesh wound did not slow him down and he was soon off to Cyprus to participate in the Cyprus- Turkey hostilities. While travelling in a convoy in Cyprus his lorry hit a mine and he was sat on the roof at the time. His flight through the air ended on soft bushes and he soldiered on.

His next posting was in Ireland and again his lorry was bombed. Again he was seated on the roof and off he flew into some road side marshy land. (At this stage I began to doubt if these things really happened).

On discharge from the army he was working on a roof and fell to the ground head first but survived. (Starting to sound like Nigeria).

One day while going to work on his push bike, he was projected into the air by a lorry. He landed, dusted himself and went to work! He was about 35 years old. (Please note that Mr C is no code name for Clarke Kent)

Five year later while on a motor bike, he was hit by a lorry and broke no bones.

In 1981, he thought it was surely the end. Diagnosed with Stomach Cancer he ventured to know the prognosis. ‘You have just six months’ he was told.

He claims that originally his surgery was to be performed by an understudy to the Chief Surgeon but he said, ‘The chief surgeon must have seen something in me, so he decided to do the operation himself’. Having been relieved of his stomach, spleen and various lymph nodes, he recovered. Unfortunately, the Chief Surgeon who incidentally was suffering from the same Stomach condition as Mr C went in for surgery the next day but did not make it. He was wheeled out of the operating theater dead.

So, what is the secret of living to a hundred?

When you get knocked down, stand up promptly and you just might get a chance. A dose of PMA, (positive mental attitude) also helps.

Mr C was over flowing with PMA.  His last words to me before he left were, ‘I will make it to a hundred. You will see me, er, if you are still around’. 
Eh! God forbid bad thing. ‘Of course I will be around’!! I replied almost too enthusiastically.
After all, Dia ris God on my side and He is willing!

Babawilly

Dr Wilson Orhiunu

27-8-2014