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Chelsea’s Ties to a Group of Nigerian Burn Victims

File photo by Michelle Massey Barnes. Will Johnson gives his personal Musings and Memories at a program at the Chelsea District Library.

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Will Johnson for providing the information for this story.)

As the community celebrates MLK Jr. Day, there’s a chapter of Chelsea’s history that some folks might not know took place.

It’s the story of how Chelsea befriended a group of Nigerian burn victims in the early ‘80s.

The information comes from a book written by Will Johnson titled, “Musings and Memories.”

“It was a June morning in 1982, and I got a call and was asked, ‘Do you trust me?’” said Johnson during a discussion of his book that took place several years ago at the Chelsea District Library. “It was Dr. Irving Feller, a Sylvan Township resident, and a world renown burn surgeon. “

A terrible explosion had taken place at the SC Johnson Company chemical plant near Lagos, Nigeria in June 1982. Many people were killed and more were seriously injured and badly burned.

At that time, there were no burn centers in Africa, and that’s where Feller got involved. Richard Stewart, MD, the medical director for SC Johnson, contacted him about the explosion and asked for his help.

Feller, in turn, contacted officials at University of Michigan and Chelsea Hospital to alert them about the situation.

A few days later, Feller and Stewart flew to Nigeria to assess the surviving patients, supervise their care, and develop a plan for transport for those who could survive.

“Imagine waking up one morning, going to work, and being involved in a violent explosion. You’re severely injured, and you are cared for as best as Lagos hospitals can do. You are likely unaware of what happened to your friends and colleagues and worried what would happen to your family without your job. Now you are leaving Nigeria and going to the United States to Michigan to Ann Arbor to Chelsea,” Johnson wrote in his book.  

A plane was found that had been refitted as an intensive care unit to fly up to 20 patients here and six days after the explosion, 18 victims were on their way to Michigan. Sadly, two died shortly after takeoff.

The patients landed in Detroit and two helicopters were waiting with doctors and nurses for transport to U-M and Chelsea hospitals.

“Accepting the Nigerian burn patients was instantaneous,” Johnson wrote. “The relationships with our medical staff, employees, volunteers, University of Michigan Hospitals, and the National Institute of Burn Medicine made this adventure possible. The Chelsea community fully supported the hospital and its mission.”

As the patients improved, they were moved from U-M Hospital to Chelsea Hospital where hospital volunteers and staff not only cared for them but also befriended them.

“As the first two Nigerian patients departed for home, patients from U-M would be transferred to Chelsea hospital. This was a clear sign to each patient that he was making progress. Chelsea hospital was the next stop and challenge on the road home. After an extended period, all the severely burned Nigerian patients made sufficient progress to return home,” Johnson wrote.

But while they were here, when the Chelsea community learned of their arrival, they did all they could to make them feel welcomed, sharing meals at the hospital with them while staff of the hospital cared for them.

“The bond between Chelsea hospital, the Chelsea community, and our friends from Nigeria was renewed,” Johnson wrote.

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