Boom Boom

It’s while Dad is away in England that Mum goes to sleep and doesn’t wake up. She was often ill but nothing had prepared Osaik for her death.

Dad had been investigating a possible cure for his little sister, Boom Boom, who has the same illness, sickle-cell anaemia. Unable to cope with the fact that Boom Boom might die too, Dad, Osaik, and his loyal dog, Kompa, set out to find a donor who could be a match for Boom Boom so she can have a lifesaving bone marrow transplant.

Although Dad and Osaik work hard to find a suitable donor, they need help from Kompa to make a breakthrough. And even then, things aren’t at all straightforward.  

This is not a true story, but it reads like a memoir – with a bit of magic realism thrown in. There are distressing scenes of serious illness and severe pain in the context of a reality that affects far too many families, especially in Nigeria; those whose lives are blighted by sickle-cell anaemia and the devastation it can cause.

This is a heartwarming, heartbreaking story full of interesting information and highlights the generosity of those who choose to become bone marrow donors.