[News] I’m grateful I lived long enough to see it – Plane crash survivor, Kechi Okwuchi bares her facial scars as she shares recovery journey

Burn survivor, Kechi Okwuchi has said that true progress and genuine growth cannot happen overnight.

 

The 31-year-old Nigerian-American singer, who is one of two survivors in the Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crash, stated this on Tuesday, July 20 when she took to social media to share her recovery journey spanning 14 years.

 

Kechi had sustained third degree burns over 65% of her body and was given a 30% chance of survival.

 

She has undergone over a hundred reconstructive surgeries since the targic crash that claimed 107 lives, 59 of which were her school mates at Loyola Jesuit College.

 

Sharing a photo from 2007, a year after the tragic crash and a new one taken on Tuesday, July 20, 2021, the America’s Got Talent finalist said she is grateful to God for being alive to witness her progress.

 

 

 

Read her post and see more photos below…

 

“Wonder if I should tag this as sensitive content…?) I stumbled upon the picture on the left on my laptop a couple months ago, and i have been contemplating this post since then,” she write.

 

I remember I stared at it for a long time that day. Time makes me forget just how extensive my burn injuries were, and how devastating the effects were to my body.

 

The pic on the left was taken a good year after the plane crash and by then, intense scar tissue had formed, esp on my face.

 

I took the pic on the right a few mins ago and made these before/afters, and I marvel at how far God has brought me. I am the result of the hard work of multiple surgeons He brought into my life, nurses, physiotherapists, and love and care from my family, my mom especially.

 

This is what progress looks like, guys. 2 pictures, 14 years apart. I’m grateful that I lived long enough to see it.

 

I decided to make this post so that you guys can marvel at God with me. I want someone who reads this to see that true progress, genuine growth, and lasting change cannot happen overnight.

 

Most of the time during the journey, maybe like me, you won’t notice changes because day by day they’re too minuscule to make a difference. But if you give yourself a fighting chance, if you find the right kind of support on your journey, one day, definitely one day, you will look back like I did this morning and hopefully…you will smile.

 

I heard this in a song and it stuck with me: The night will definitely come. But so will the morning