Stella Adadevoh is known as the doctor who paid the ultimate price to save her country, Nigeria, from the outbreak of the Ebola disease. Her full name was Stella Shade Ameyo Adadevoh. She was the lead physician and endocrinologist at First Consultant Hospital in Lagos State, Nigeria. She was born on the 27th of October 1956 and died on the 19th of August 2014 at the age of 57.
She curbed a wider spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria by placing patient zero, Patrick Sawyer, in quarantine despite pressures from the Liberian Government. She quickly identified Nigeria’s first case of the Ebola virus – a 40-year-old civil servant called Patrick Sawyer, who flew into Lagos from Ebola-devastated Liberia in July of 2014. Sawyer claimed to have Malaria, but Stella Adadevoh suspected that he was lying. Sawyer refused to be quarantined, insisting he had to leave the hospital and eventually had to be physically restrained. Stella paid the ultimate price when she physically restrained Sawyer. She contracted the disease and died on the 19th of August 2014, leaving behind her husband and son. And it will interest you to know that she received more awards in death than she did while she lived (Wikipedia).
Leadership Lessons from the Life of Dr. Stella Adadevoh
- Great women understand that nothing of value is ever free. I am always amazed when people think that they can get something of value for free. Stella Adadevoh wanted an Ebola-free country for herself and her loved ones. She knew that letting Sawyer loose in the streets of a nation where people were ignorant of the disease and its consequences would be tragic. The disease would spread very quickly and be literally out of control. And when restraining him herself was the only option, she took it knowing she would probably die but hoping that she would get what she wanted, an Ebola-free Everything of value comes with a price tag. Great women know this.
- Great women understand the place of sacrifice. Stella Adadevoh knew she had to make a sacrifice and she made the ultimate sacrifice.
- Great women are selfless. Great women think not only of themselves but of Stella Adadevoh did not need to restrain Sawyer. She could have saved herself and let the disease spread, hoping she would be safe through it all, and she probably would have. But she put others before her; she put her nation before her. She was a great woman.
- Great women fight for causes that are bigger than themselves. Restraining Sawyer for the good of her nation and the people of her nation was a cause that was bigger than Stella Adadevoh, but she fought for it, and that makes her a great woman. A woman to be admired.
- Great women are not those who are unafraid. Like everyone else, great women are afraid. However, great women are those who do not allow fear to stop them from acting, especially when the action is required to bring about their desired result. I believe that Stella Adadevoh would have initially been gripped with fear. She was a doctor, she knew the consequences of physically restraining an Ebola patient, but she acted all the same.
- Great women can see the big picture. They look beyond the present to what the future holds. When Stella Adadevoh restrained Sawyer, she was clearly looking beyond the present to the future. She saw the big picture, an Ebola-free country and that is what she died to achieve.
- Great women are determined to succeed, and indeed they approach their tasks with a sense of determination. Adadevoh was determined to keep Ebola patient, Patrick Sawyer quarantined. She was determined and she got what she wanted; Sawyer remained quarantined.
- Great women have a sense of duty. They take very seriously the responsibility of bettering the lives of those around them and society. These are women who say, if it is to be it is up to me. These women are not waiting for a bailout; rather they are seeking ways to make their nations, communities, and families better.
- Great women live on many years after their death. Adadevoh may be dead, but she lives on, and one doubts that anyone can mention Ebola in Nigeria without mentioning her name. She received more awards in death than she did in her lifetime.
- Great women are celebrated. They are applauded for their good works. The people of Nigeria continue to express their gratitude whenever Stella Adadevoh is mentioned.
Thank you, Dr. Stella Adadevoh, for your sacrifice to our nation Nigeria. Continue to rest in peace.
My parting question to you reading is this; what are you doing to make your family, community or nation better? Great women live a life of significance.
