Chimanda Ngozi Adichie's 21-month-old son, Nkanu, died in Lagos after receiving too much Propofol during an M.R.I. at Euracare hospital. His father, physician Ivara Esege, contacted Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, but Nkanu went into cardiac arrest and died within 24 hours. Adichie and Esege urged a coroner's inquest to help other Nigerians harmed by the country's troubled health care system, stressing they are not suing but want systemic change. The loss has complicated Adichie's relationship with Nigeria, once a vivid milieu in her work, including her novel "Americanah." Now she feels uprooted, describing her homeland as "a source of pain." Adichie, 48, and Esege, 57, spoke at their Maryland home, where an easy choreography between them was tempered by palpable weariness.

The couple's daughter, 10, was at day camp, and the younger twin slept upstairs; The Times agreed not to name the children. Esege said, "Hopefully someone else will not have to go through this." The inquest continues, highlighting dangers of Nigeria's health care system and the family's grief.