Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
A tail about hope in dark times
“Our days melded into nights. Naina fielded fear and despair while I fielded phone calls from family and friends. We prayed, we pleaded with God and we prayed again. Nothing worked.”
“I’m sorry,” the doctor said, ‘your child has tested positive for the AMBID virus.’
Naina, my wife, fell into a chair. I stood and stared at the doctor – rendered mute.
“AMBID! How…how is that possible?”
Naina’s query brought me out of my inert state.
“He’s a baby. We both tested negative. How can our child test positive?” I asked, flummoxed.
“Babies due to their low immunity are at risk. Your child is seven months old. He could have contracted it from just about anyone. His body could not resist such an invasive virus,” the doctor explained.
In the darkness that swamped my sanity I heard Naina plead, “I want to see my baby…please, doctor.”
The doctor shook his head. “I’m sorry but, the risk of contagion is too high. We need to minimize your exposure. I cannot allow you in the NICU.”
What was he saying? We couldn’t be with our baby.
The doctor read the flurry of questions in my mind. “Don’t worry”, he said, “Your baby will be cared for. That’s our job. Have faith.”
I nodded in response; my voice too constricted with emotion. Naina melted into my embrace, sobbing.
We had tried for years to conceive. And then, one day, miraculously there they were – two pink lines on the home pregnancy test. Naina had been ecstatic…for all of two months, before she had miscarried. Sadly, that wasn’t the only time. There were a few other heartbreaking instances. Each miscarriage broke a part of her. Until, at last this pregnancy had taken.
But now, this…
Our vigil began shortly. We camped outside the NICU praying while our baby boy’s tiny body battled virulent demons.
The nursing staffs understood our plight, our helplessness. They took our phones and shot videos of our baby for us. We could see our son, but we could not hold him. Hooked up to paraphernalia of tubes, he looked so fragile…our baby boy.
Our days melded into nights. Naina fielded fear and despair while I fielded phone calls from family and friends. We prayed, we pleaded with God and we prayed again. Nothing worked.
On the third night, our baby took a turn for the worse.
“His body is too weak…the virus is too…”
We didn’t hear what the doctor said next. We had slumped in fervent prayer amid choked sobs. We spent that night dreading the worst. Every time the NICU door opened, we thought…
Come morning, even our hopes were decaying.
Then, the doctor exited the NICU. Miraculously, he smiled. Relief washed over us.
“Good news! Your baby is out of danger and we are shifting him to a private room.”
We laughed, we cried and we hugged. Our baby was going to be fine.
On the day our baby was discharged, we held hands and said a prayer.
We may have got back our child back from the maw of death but there were many who had not. They left the hospital both empty-handed and empty-hearted.
Picture credit- RitaE on pixabay
Sonal is a multiple award winning blogger and writer and the founder of a women-centric manpower search firm - www.rianplacements.com. Her first book, a volume of poetry - Islands in the stream - is slated read more...
This post has published with none or minimal editorial intervention. Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
Please enter your email address