Collins Ngwa Fru

Collins Ngwa FRU was born November 28th, 1993, to Mr. & Mrs. Bernard and Jeannette FRU in Bamenda, North West Region, Cameroon. Collins is the last child of 6, comprising 4 brothers (Franklin, Retired Army Corporal Donald Fru, Ernest Fru, Edwin Fru) and his lone sister (Cynthia Fru, whom he called “mom”). Collins was raised by a nanny while mommy had just been admitted into Teachers Training College (ENIET). Despite the presence of his Nanny and in the absence of his mommy, Collins resorted to calling Cynthia “Mom” because when he was 1 year old, Cynthia was his immediate female figure and protege; hence the name “Mom” even though they were just 2 years apart.

Growing up, Collins was a very happy and jovial kid. I left Cameroon when Collins was barely 6 years old and was that kid whose mommy provided anything and everything he asked for. He was the kid that every other kid in the Ntamulung neighborhood was his friend, and they all nicknamed him (Col-Col) because he shared every toy he had, including his bicycle. His reciprocal love for his friends told about his character of humility, respect, and love for others. Collins's bond with the sister Cynthia was even stronger when mom and dad traveled to the USA, and Collins joined his sister at Presbyterian High School, Batibo. Cynthia took care of him until they both rode the O`levels. They later traveled to join Mom, Dad, myself, and Donald. Before college education, Collins attended Presbyterian Bilingual Primary School Ntamulung up station. Then he attended Government Technical College (GTC) Bamenda, then PHS Batibo, and transferred to Starlight College Nkwen, where he obtained his General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level.

If you look at his funeral picture and flyer, it will enact questions about whether he was in the military. One thing I know about Col-Col is his love for uniforms. Dad was ex-military in Cameroon, and their elder brother, Retired Corporal Donald Fru, was in the US Army (Ret). Seeing the family pics of armed men in uniform motivated his pursuit for a uniformed career. When he arrived in Texas, he joined the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and served as a Correctional Officer in Region II Palestine, Texas. He left Palestine for Dallas to follow in the footsteps of Retried Corporal Donald Fru in joining the military. He started as a college student planning to join the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) or military Cadet. To answer the question of whether Collins was military, no cadets are not considered soldiers. Instead, they are part of a commissioning program that helps them develop leadership skills to become officers in the United States military. Before his demise, he continued his love for armed men in uniform and worked as an armed officer and supervisor at a private security agency, Deltacon. The love in pursuit of uniforms was again eminent, and he died as an armed officer with this agency. Even though young at 30, he died pursuing what his heart yearned for. This Uniformed legacy trajectory for Collins was cut short by his death.

His legacy and aspiration to serve in the US military were delayed by a sudden episode of seizure with unknown etiology, and he was placed on medications that controlled recurrence well until his demise. As a Provider, I reviewed his medical records and noted great compliance with his regimen; however, his last episode was triggered by dehydration and a high hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS), which is an elevated blood glucose concentration that sometimes happens with dehydration. Collins was not sick and did not have any concerned comorbidities to have triggered his Sudden, unexpected cardiac arrest except for his seizures.

Collins would normally get up at 7 AM and get ready for work to leave the house by 8:30 AM. However, on Thursday, June 6th, 2024, Cynthia noticed his car was still outside the house and wondered why Collins had not gone to work so she opened his room to find him on the floor actively having a seizure, and she called the Ambulance but noticed his extremities (fingers and toes where cold and darker), and he was breathing. When the paramedics got there, they took him to the ambulance from upstairs and applied EKG pads. They noticed his heart was beating too fast with an abnormal reading called Ventricular Fibrillation, and they started CPR. On hospital arrival, he was intubated, and CPR continued for 45 more minutes, but the staff was unable to return spontaneous circulation. I was driving to the airport to catch a flight for work when the chaplain called me to say that I needed to come to the hospital. And on my way there, I got a call from the Doctor that Collins was pronounced dead at 10:26 AM.

Mommy`s favorite baby and last born, Col-Col, is no more. Some fun stuff about Collins is that he was a great cook and would prepare meals for Mom and Dad every week since he came to the USA. Mom was crying, mentioning his name and that she bought a bunch of bananas so Collins would bake her banana cake the week he passed, but Collins left without doing that.

FUN FACTS:

1. Very caring person: shared his bicycle and toys with every kid in the neighborhood, even those with whom they had occasional fights. Other kids will rent their bicycles, but he was free

2. He was an avid and bubbly Young Presbyterian (YP) kid who would dance like no one was watching during YP rallies and Presbyterian Church Day competition

3. As young as he was in YP, he played volleyball for the church with his senior brothers in the Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF)

4. He was an astounding soccer goalkeeper for P.H.S Batibo and Starlight College Nkwen, and even when he traveled to Dallas, he played for Cameroon Dallas Football Club (CAMDAL FC)

5. He can cook anything under planet Earth. Mom was a Home Economics Teacher in College and ensured every kid, including the last child (Col-Col), knew how to cook. Everyone had their day in the kitchen with mom during summer as our nanny went on vacation.

6. Col-col was mommy`s boy! Collins loved living at home and was with Mom and dad before his passing

7. Lastly, Collins was a man of few words, very respectful, and loving to all. We will miss him forever in our hearts. Psalms 116:115 (Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints). Rest well, brother.