HOW I MET YOUR FATHER...

Kids, it was the summer of '85 when we first met. Yeah, yeah i know that u have heard all about our' girl meets boy, boy proposes, girl disposes so on and so forth natak ' so often that now it has become ur favourite bedtime story! (read may 2010 POST ) You fall asleep even before it starts!

So, today i am telling u a story about 2 kids who never met their father.

It was a routine antenatal consultation. Lata, a sweet, simple 21 year old, newly married, came with her husband, 12 weeks pregnant. Both were shy, eager to follow advice and were sent off with instructions to eat well,put on weight and follow up after a month. 3 months later, Lata walks in, now 6 months pregnant along with her mother. Gone was that sweet, quietly content look. In law troubles,i guessed, having been witness to many such stories in the past. Was i wrong! 2 months earlier, her husband was crossing the road near Sion hospital when a truck knocked him down. He died instantaneously. The next two months were a nightmare as Lata was blamed for her husband's bad luck and she was forced to go to her mother's house. No time for grief, sorrow is a luxury for girls like her who have to carry on with the business of living. Her old,frail mother and she almost appeared uncaaring but for the catch in her voice and arms protectively clutched around her tummy.

Amita was 7 months pregnant when a weekend trip to Lonavla changed her life forever. Their car met with an accident, she broke her leg but her husband was seriously injured and put on the ventilator. Her every visit to my clinic thereafter was chaotic since she was accompanied by both sets of parents, her brother and sister ln law. Her husband succumbed to his injuries almost a month later and every time i checked the baby's heartbeat, there was a fresh wave of sorrow.

Both mothers delivered with me. Lata had a baby boy and she held him with tears streaming down her face. Amita had a baby girl, the spitting image of her father. One could sense that both sets of grandparents were going to fight for her.

And so were born two kids who will never meet their father!

(all names changed)

MIRACLE BABIES

Woke up in the morning to headlines in the TOI : "KASAB gets what he gave - DEATH !"
LIFE and DEATH , 2 sides of a coin, seen at close quarters by doctors. It is argued that Science is the antithesis of Religion and as trained scientists , we should have an explanation for all events. However, it would be more correct to say that we are witness to miracles which defy logic.

I see the hand of GOD every single day in the L.R. [read labour room] The entire process of Life Creation unfolds in front of my eyes. The birth of the marvellous human body, the ultimate machine, created from two phenomenal cells , the oocyte and sperm.

What drama occurs in the L.R. ! Once I remember, I was delivering twins.The first baby was out,a healthy female child , when suddenly the beeping of the monitor recording the second baby's heartbeat stopped. All efforts to locate the heartsounds failed. I consoled myself with the thought that atleast one of the twins is alive and steeled myself to deliver a stillbirth. I tugged on the baby's legs which were the presenting part[a Breech delivery], pulled gently till buttocks, hips, back and shoulders were delivered. As I gave traction to bring out the head, I almost wept at the near perfect face of the baby. Suddenly its eyes screwed up, mouth opened wide and he gave a lusty cry! I almost dropped him in shock! What joy and noise in the L.R. with two wailing babies and a bunch of shouting, dancing doctors and nurses.

The other miracle which comes to mind is when the umbilical cord of the baby, in rare instances, has a true knot in it! As you know, this cord is the baby's lifeline . The fetus has made the arduous journey from its safe haven inside the womb to the outside without the knot tightening. Surely there is a grand purpose to its life which has protected it. I make it a point to show this knot to the parents so that they know how special their child is.

So, Life and Death are my constant companions always reminding me that I am but a puppet in the hands of God. In fact it is my work which has converted me into a believer. For me, Science and Religion co-exist!

Bye for now! Keep Pushing... Good luck!