‘Doctor what is happening
to me?’ she asked with tension in her voice. Am I going to be alright?’ She
asked her eyes filled with tears. She had so much to tell him, do everything
within your power to make sure I live. I want to celebrate with my husband and
our friends. I want to live and my baby to live also.’
The words though playing
on her lips were buried inside the recesses of her mind. She thought of the
saying that only God knows the intention of man.
‘Madam you would be
alright. I assure you but your baby....’
She interrupted him, ‘my
baby what about my baby?’
‘He has a heart condition
which makes it impossible for her to breathe well and in future the heart
condition would affect her breathing, her studies and her ability to play with
other children.
Our concern madam is you
we want to make sure you are alright because as a young woman you can always
have many other children.’
He bent his face towards
hers as he said the last sentence. His eyes appeared to her like two big unripe
and tasteless water melons. She shut them to blot away the image. The eyes made
her uncomfortable.
The next time she opened
them the doctor had gone back to his former position. He looked dangerous all
of a sudden.
‘My baby doctor. Nothing
must happen to my baby.’ She said her voice growing stronger though not as
strong as she desired. She wanted to say more but mightier hands seemed to pin
her to the bed, weighing her down and thus affecting her every faculty.
It suddenly hit her; I
have not touched my baby. She motioned to the doctor with her right hand,
clenching and opening her fists twice before giving up. It was a lot of effort.
‘Doctor please give me my baby, let me hold her for a little while in my hands.
Who know…’
‘Madam I don’t think it is
a good idea.’
She wanted to shout on him
what is the bad idea in holding a baby I carried for nine months and laboured for almost 24hours to have. No matter how
strongly she felt voicing her opinion, the words stuck in her throat like glue
on a sealed envelope.
She sighed and shook her
head.
‘Doctor, please let me
hold her, who knows my body warmth can help,’ she said hitting the side of her
bed gently indicative that she wanted the baby dropped there. Her spirit was
suddenly excited at the thought of touching her baby. She fought to remain
conscious.
The doctor looked at the
woman standing beside him for guidance. He had thought they would just come in
and slip away. The woman nodded. He took the baby and placed beside her exactly
where she indicated. Unable to turn fully or stand up, she felt the baby stir
beside her. She couldn’t do more than turn her neck slightly a very frustrating
experience.
‘Doctor she has my birth
mark on her chest was the only thing,’ she could say then. Much later she
remembered that the baby was not breathing erratically the way the doctor had
described her breathing.
‘Interesting! Madam I
think it is time you rested because you are obviously tired. The matron would
give you your injection.’
The doctor bent down
quickly and collected the baby. It was then she took more than the passing
glance at the matron. She suddenly
didn’t feel like taking another injection, what was the injection? She felt
like asking, the one you gave me put me in this semi unconscious state and you
are still talking of another one. Do you want to kill me?’ But it was a
hopeless situation because she couldn’t do more in her present condition. Only
tears fell freely from her eyes. ‘My husband! My Husband! Where is he doctor?’
She asked. She felt like a freshly recruited bull fighter who were pushed into
the arena unprepared, facing two bulls.
The two standing before her were the two bulls
while she was the totally unprepared and inexperienced bull fighter who has
discovered that there was no way she would win the fight.
The doctor had the baby in
his hands. ‘Nothing to worry about. Your colleagues who were here this morning
assured us that he would be back from his tour the day after tomorrow.’
‘I feel so lonely and
afraid.’ She wouldn’t have loved to tell the doctor because the doctor and the
nurse beside him were the reasons why she felt that way but what option did she
have.
Her mother was yet to
come, her husband traveled and none of his friends nor their wives was around.
She didn’t like the drowsy way she has been feeling right from when she put to
bed particularly after the injection to relax her nerves. Not fully recovered,
they are about to give her another injection. For what? She wondered.
As the matron came close
and placed the injection tray on the side table and took out the syringe,
lifted it and pushed it up and down causing a little to sprout out and
grimaced. Angela shut her eyes as if
with that it would stop the matron from giving her the injection. It was just
as well because she didn’t witness the iron cast face of the matron who
performed her job dispassionately.
Angela abandoned thoughts
of herself and prayed for her baby. ‘My Lord, please don’t let me lose my
baby,’ before she slipped back into unconsciousness.
The two watched her as she
shook her head left and right in a drowsy manner and finally stopped it on the
side where they stood.
Smiling at each other, the
matron moved to the edge of the bed, took the bed sheet at the foot of the bed
and covered her legs. Done, they marched away silently with measured steps
exactly the way they had come in. The baby stirred a bit in his hands but the
doctor pushed it closer to him, clinging
onto it like he got wind of information that someone was on his way to
snatch the baby from him.
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