“I wrote this story out of my personal experience. I had my lesson to
learn from it. But I do not know if you will find any. It depends on the way
you perceive it. But for me, it was worth writing."
Pain turning into anger, and
anxiety surrendering to fear – you could see all these transitions on Reshma’s
face. A gentle breeze partially cleared the tiny drops of sweat off her nose
and forehead. But more tiny drops came to life on a small break from Mother
Nature.
Reshma was in pain and the nurse pushed
the wheelchair faster, carefully though, towards the ‘Casualty ward’ at the rear of the hospital. Reshma’s brother Vinay and her husband Rahul were by
her side, but they were helpless. They could only watch her go through the pain,
all alone.
You could hear Reshma’s husband Rahul
whispering to her, “Hold on for a few more minutes. The doc will be here and
everything will be alright”. For a response, she shouted at him at the top of her
voice for his lame attempts at comforting her. But he kept on doing the same
thing. Perhaps he knew the value of love, which calls for us to show unconditional
care and affection, no matter what we get in return. Understanding her pain,
and letting her know that she was not alone – that was all he was doing.
Reshma’s parents were right
behind the wheelchair and they were jumpy. You could tell the emotions running
inside the old couple. They might become grandparents for the very first time
in their lives, but during that point of time, the pain that their daughter endured,
eclipsed all the hopes and happiness in them.
The unpaved gravel road towards
the casualty ward was not in good shape, and every time the wheelchair
struggled to remain parallel to the road, Reshma cried, which brought a sense
of dread into the silence that filled the dark night.
The casualty ward was a newly
built building and not so many patients were inside. But those who were inside
the room, were totally freaked out. Maybe this was the first time that they saw
a pregnant woman, whose anger surpassed her cries of pain.
Reshma’s shrill cries and shouts
echoed inside the newly built room as the patients gaped at her. One look at
their faces, and you would feel that they were humbled – in a comparative
sense, they were healthy chaps.
Nobody could go near Reshma. The
nurses hesitated to say anything to her. They just did their duty at attending
to her medical needs. In a nutshell, everyone inside the Casualty ward was
afraid of Reshma and a fearsome silence filled the room.
It was then that a patient’s
phone rang. It was a romantic song from the eighties. The ringtone was very
loud, thanks to the Chinese manufacturers. Vinay and Rahul looked at the owner
of the cell phone, as if all hell would break loose on him any moment. The man
was stunned and for a moment, he stood still, staring at the duo, as if he was
stoned. He just didn’t know what to do.
Vinay looked at him from Reshma
and back. For a few seconds, Reshma was silent and then she slowly lifted her
face to look at Vinay. For some unknown reason, Vinay wanted to laugh and he
did so without his own consent. It looked to Rahul that Reshma might jump out
of her wheelchair and slap the phone owner and Vinay right on their cheeks. But
quite surprisingly, the reverse happened as a sad and helpless smile slowly
spread on her face. The expression conveyed a clear message: ‘Who the fuck is
that dude and what the hell?’
Vinay burst out laughing and
looked at the unknown man who made his sister finally smile amid the emotional
roller-coaster ride she was going through.
The next
cry from Reshma brought all the comfort in the room crashing down. The nurse
pushed the wheelchair ahead towards the lift in haste.
Reshma was taken to the ‘Labour
Room’. Her family could hear her scream with anger and pain inside. Rahul, who was
not able to withstand his wife’s cries, settled on the staircase, where the painful
noise had only a very bleak reach. Reshma’s parents sat on the bench outside
the Labour room and waited. Vinay walked up and down the corridor, having no
idea how to kill time and alleviate the fear that was haunting his mind.
There were three or four pregnant
women at least inside the room and only Reshma’s voice filled the whole of
third floor. From a few of the smaller rooms on the third floor, where the
patients were admitted, some people came out to check on what was happening.
This increased the anxiety and tension for the whole family. There were many
questions and suggestions. But there was nothing in it that comforted them. It only worsened their fear.
‘Crying so loud will drain all the energy in her’
‘It will become problematic if she doesn’t co-operate’
‘Are there complications?’
‘Don’t worry! God will help you’
‘When I can’t take this, how do you guys take it in? God be with you’
‘How long has it been? Was she crying and howling like this when you
started from your house?’
‘Cesarean would be nice option if you wish to... I mean...’
Their only increased the jitters
for the family. On top of that, when it was raining suggestions, a nurse came
out of the Labour room and delivered a telling blow to their confidence. She
came out and said, “Is Reshma’s mother here?”
Her mother responded, “Yes”
“Please come inside, we need your
help. She is not co-operating at all.”
You could see Reshma’s mother
trying to swallow the huge lump of saliva stuck on her throat. She went in and
from then on, none of the family members was able to settle on a fixed place.
Vinay had to disperse the
sympathisers finally. To some he spoke politely, while at some others he
snapped ruthlessly.
The cries that echoed the room became
louder again. Close to one hour passed and still there was no sign of Reshma’s doctor.
Then the same nurse came out with another bad news.
“Parvati Madam [The doctor who
treated Reshma] is out of town. Doctor Vishwanathan will have to attend the
case.”
This was a huge blow to Reshma’s
family. Tears welled inside Rahul’s eyes as he leaned on the wall for support.
Reshma’s father was breathing heavily and he was fighting hard to control his
emotions.
Vinay on the other hand could feel his chest burning. He paced up and
down the narrow corridor.
The family had no idea who this Dr.
Vishwanathan was. Dr. Parvati was well aware of Reshma’s case and her absence
in the very last moment made the whole family wrought up. All they could do was
to wait outside the Labour room, listening to the screeching sound inside labour
room that spiraled up in volume every single minute.
After some fifteen minutes, a
skinny man, with a pale look, came out of the lift, and walked laboriously through
the corridor. He had very little hair and the strands of hair left on his
baldhead had already turned grey. He was so thin that one would wonder how long
it has been since he last had some food.
Only when the tired looking man
knocked at the Labour room door, did the family realise that the man was the
doctor who was going to attend Reshma’s case.
Reshma’s father wanted to talk to
doctor, but before he could approach him, the doctor had entered room and
closed it behind him.
It started raining outside and
time trickled like the zillion drops of water that emanated from the dark
clouds. Only for the family, time moved in slow motion. For them, it filled the
floor and transformed into quick sand, which started to pull all three of them
into a world of fear. In that world, no one knew what lay ahead. There, answers
came only when you experience it for real. You may drown or suddenly be able to
swim your way up. It was like - caught off guard, into the unknown, with just prayers
to chant.
It was then that Reshma’s mother
came outside. Looking tensed, she sat on the bench outside the Labour room and sighed
heavily.
Rahul rushed to her and asked her
on Reshma’s situation. She replied, “She is not co-operating. They are going to
use the vacuum pump. She is very tired but she is fighting back. I have no idea
how this....”
The little courage that was left
in Rahul, crashed into the oblivion, like a pack of cards.
‘I beg you Reshma, please, please, please co-operate….’ Rahul
chanted in his mind.
The whole family could hear
Reshma screaming from inside, and they knew that if Reshma continues to fight
back, then she might end up fainting, which could lead to a whole lot of
troubles.
What happened next was what the
family feared the most. All the cries and screaming sounds from inside the Labour
died. A sudden silence stifled all four of them. They would have thought that the
screaming sounds were better then. All of them just stood motionless, breathing
heavily, not ready to look at each other.
Every second that passed,
presented the family with a new bunch of horrible thoughts. Reshma’s mother closed
her eyes and started praying.
The door opened and all four of
them shuddered at the creaking sound of it.
“IS SHE OKAY?” Rahul asked the
nurse who was standing outside.
The split second that the nurse
took to answer Rahul’s question, seemed like a lifetime for Rahul and the other
three.
“She is fine and congrats. It is
a baby boy!”
Like a strong comeback from the
light, which was blocked by the dark clouds for a long time, happiness filled their
hearts. Tears of happiness flooded across everyone’s face. They hugged and kissed
each other.
Shocking all four of them, in a
few minutes, the door opened again and it was Reshma. She stood there, with a
plump and rotund figure wrapped inside a white towel in her hands.
Rahul ran and kissed Reshma on
her cheeks and forehead. He looked down at his child, with eyes filled with
tears, but a face all proud and smiling. The baby was beautiful - small eyes, fleshy
cheeks and all red. Soon after that, she went inside again, at the nurse’s
request, so that the baby will not get suddenly exposed to the outside climate.
Before she closed the door, Dr.
Vishwanathan came outside and smiled at Reshma. She nodded her head and gave an
all-too-knowingly smile in return.
Rahul quickly asked, before she
closed the door again. “Hey wait. What just happened? I thought things were
getting more complicated…” he stammered, “And then… suddenly… I just can’t believe
it...”
Looking at the lean man who was
trudging his way towards the lift, Reshma replied.
“I was in so much of pain that I
was totally out of control. I attacked that man and he gently asked me to
co-operate. I shouted at him saying he had no idea what I was going through.
Then he came close to my ears and whispered, ‘Lung cancer, terminal stage. Any more questions?’ I just had... I
just had nothing to tell him. But it just gave me all the strength in the world
that I want.”
Before the bell rang, which
signalled the closure of the lift door, all five of them heard the man coughing
from inside...
Or did they just imagine that he
coughed?
THE END
