The day I became a mom…

 

 

 

Every year exactly on this day, the ninth of August a fascinating scene flashes through my mind as if in a slow motion and am transported back in time….

To the day I became a mom…

To the day which changed my life forever…

I was no longer a girl,

I was now a woman ,

A mom…

It was a bright sunny morning.The chirping of the birds, the light  cool breeze of the trees just outside my bedroom windows. Dad worked in the Defence Sector and we resided  in  the beautiful defence colony which  is totally under forest cover for security reasons.

I had grown heavier in the last few weeks of the last trimester and was due anytime now. Being a small and petite  person I found it difficult to carry my full grown tummy and I walked with slow steps . I could neither sit comfortably on a chair nor lie down flat on a bed . I could neither turn towards the right nor to the left on the bed nor could I just lay flat on my back,the tummy was like a huge football tied to the centre of my body.

As usual I was going about my business of  eating,reading, watching TV(the star TV had made its advent in that year) and napping on and off…

It was lunchtime and  mom as usual had made my favourite steaming rice sambhar and omelette combo. As I settled down to have a sumptuous lunch two things happened simultaneously.

The doorbell rang and I felt an urge to visit the loo. My mom answered the door bell while I went to answer nature’ call.

I returned to my place at the table, and was greeted by a family friend an aunt whose son was my schoolmate . She had come on a friendly visit to see me.

In the meanwhile something wet was trickling down my inner thigh and I was clueless about what was happening. I excused myself to visit the loo again and couldn’t figure out why there was a constant trickle which wouldn’t stop.

I informed my mom about my discomfiture and that was enough to trigger the panic button.  The aunt was God sent at the right moment who could buffer  the situation.

Thankfully we did have a landline(the big black phone with a circular dial provided by the factory ) at home, my dad being eligible for one due to his recent promotion and we could make two important phone calls. The first one to summon my dad who was on duty and the second for an ambulance.

Meanwhile I was left standing , as neither of the women knew what to do. By now I figured that the liquid trickling down was from the embryo sac and am astonished to this day as to how I remained unaffected throughout the whole” hangama”.

My mom suddenly remembered our Neighbours…the Thomas family…Mrs Thomas being my Biology teacher at School and her son Jubil my classmate who was now a full fledged doc and was on a visit home .

Thomas ma’am and Dr Jubil responded  to our call for help.  This was now a truly embarrassing situation for me…having never interacted with my class boys ever…and now coming face to face with one of the most handsome docs ever, leave alone any convo, I just felt like disappearing like Sita into the ground.

Times change, and people mature and I squared my shoulders bravely. Jubil a very sweet guy made me lie down on the bed flat, he placed a pillow under my back and spoke soothingly informing and educating me about my situation. He said the embryo sac had broken and so the water was trickling down, and it was an emergency to operate to deliver the baby but I still had  2 to 3 hours time and not to worry he was there to take care of the situation.

During those days we did have a full fledged hospital at the defence colony, yet we visited the nearby town which was about 35 to 40 kms away for medical ,educational and shopping needs. We had to make the journey in an ambulance which was fine except the roads way back in the 90s were not as good as now. I was in for a slow and bumpy ride to the hospital.

I remember the journey too well, my mom was stiff and trying to control her emotions, my dad trying not to get tense sat beside my stretcher , and the aunt accompanied us as well, as   a moral support.Y es the ambulance had to stop at a railway crossing for nearly 15 valuable minutes and it took us an hour and more to reach the hospital in the Nick of time.

My husband was in a world of his own struggles, having gone to crack the Post Graduate Medical Entrance Examination in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Having finally reached the hospital, I was taken in immediately and prepared for surgery. I was given spinal anaesthesia which means I was fully awake throughout the surgery , and only from my lower back downwards was numb.

As I lay on the table , a mixed  group of doctors ,nurses and attenders surrounded me, I could hear their conversations  albeit a bit unclear as I started to feel dizzy…I heard the sound of scissors cutting across my tummy ,my eyes remained fixed on a huge clock on the white wall of the theatre for lack of anything else to stare at.

As the needles on the clock crept, a beautiful angel entered the world .It was exactly 7.24pm on the ninth of August 1995, I was shown my baby and my eyes closed with a sigh I drifted into sleep.

My world has never been the same again.

I was reborn along with a new born.

For both of us it was a new life.

Every year on this day, I feel fulfilled and complete as a human being.

Finally God answers our prayers in the most unexpected ways I and my parents will remain eternally grateful to the aunt and Jubil who were angels in disguise.

Happy Birthday to my darling first born.