EP 26 — FOR REAL
Emmanuel Chukwu
Respiratory therapist who kept people breathing through COVID at OSF
SAMPLE PROFILE — FILM SLOT
His story is coming to the series soon.
The Doctor Plan
Emmanuel Chukwu was raised in Houston by Nigerian parents with one acceptable career plan, and it was medical school. He carried that plan into college like a stone.
Sophomore year he failed organic chemistry. He retook it, scraped a C minus, and sat in his car in a parking garage understanding that the doctor plan was over. The shame lasted about a year. He worked a pharmacy counter and told his parents less and less on the phone.
I failed organic chemistry and thought my life was over. It was a Tuesday, that's all.
Breathing Room
A pharmacist he worked with mentioned respiratory therapy. A two-year program, real medicine, steady demand. He enrolled without telling his parents and graduated near the top of his class.
He moved to Urbana in 2020, when hospitals were hiring respiratory therapists like the building was on fire, and worked the worst of COVID at OSF Heart of Mary. His parents brag about him now, the son who keeps people breathing. It took them a while to get there. Him too, he admits.