Another experience off my life
5 a.m. The day was May 7. A scooty by the bus station, and there I was, sitting on it and waiting for my friend and her roomate to turn up. She told me that the earlier we start, the earlier we would get to her place, and hence avoid the heat and sweat of the summer sun. Poor girls... I found out later that they weren't given permission to sneak out that early by their hostel warden so they were stuck in the hostel until 6 a.m. I didn't know that ofcourse. And so I was waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Time went by, I was worried a bit, but not that much so I didn't go looking for them anywhere. It was just beginning to light up, the day starting to be one of those busy days again. I saw people boarding buses to different destinations. I saw milk being distributed to various men in their bicycles, who will take it to be sold to different houses. I saw buses with very funny destination names... and it was so hard for me to read because it was written in Tamil. I was getting hungry so I bought a bag of chips from the only small shop that was open close to where I was waiting. Everyone was looking at me in a funny way. I bet they were thinking this: What is a young girl like this sitting on a scooty in a place like that and eating a bag of chips and looking about as though everything was supposed to happen the way it does? She sure must be too bold and too crazy.
6 a.m. 6: 30 a.m. No one showed up yet. I was wondering whether I should go and grab some breakfast when I saw the two of them walking towards me. Finally, our plans to visit my friend's house were under way! After a lot of advice as to the care of my scooty to the roomate (I was leaving my bike with her for a couple of days until we came back), me and my friend walked towards the bus station, looked for a bus that would take us where we had to go, boarded it, and waited. Again.
The bus finally took off from the bus station at 7:30 a.m. By that time, I had finished my bag of chips and was looking for something else to eat. Boy was I so hungry! Thankfully the bus stopped at another bus station in the outskirts of the city and we both went to a shop close by and got me more chips and some biscuits. 8:15 a.m. and our journey finally started.
The journey was uneventful all the way. The bus stopped after an hour's journey and we had a break. The bus continued the next two hours and finally we got to our destination by 11 a.m. From the bus station, we took an auto to get to my friend's house... a short ride of 5 minutes into a maze of small narrow streets and there we were. My friend's parents are doctors; Mom's a gynecologist and Dad's an orthopedic. They have a clinic below their house. They also have an operation facility for surgeries.
We friends dumped our baggage at our rooms above the clinic and went downstairs to say hello to my hosts. My friend had told me earlier that every time she visited, coincidentally, her mom had to operate on a patient and deliver a baby which meant that most of the quality time she could have possibly shared with her mom were gone into the service of some desperate baby trying to make its way into the world. This time though, if it happened, she asked me if I would be interested in observing how a cesarean section operation is done, provided her parents agree to me being present in the operating room. I was thrilled at the thought of such a possibilty occuring, then I wasn't so sure, then I thought I should not miss it, then I thought maybe I should. With all these thoughts on my mind, I said hello to Uncle and Aunty.
Both of them were very happy that I was there. My friend immediately asked her mom if she had a surgery scheduled that afternoon, and if she did, can Grace please observe it? Uncle was thrilled that I was so interested in the idea. He told me that he had suggested so many times to his daughter to observe a surgery or two, but she had turned the offer down because she didn't like the idea of looking at people being cut open. He thought it was a shame that the daughter of a doctor should think that way. Oh well, there I was to compensate for his daughter!
Even though Uncle was an orthopedic, he assisted Aunty with many of her cases. He took sole charge of me and gave me a description of what to expect in a C-section operation. He told me that there would be a whole lot of blood on the run and that if I had any queasy feelings about watching a pool of blood overflow, I should forget about the idea of observing a surgery. I had already witnessed a surgery for an appendix removal during a training session two summers ago, so I wasn't so very scared. But still, I wasn't sure of whether I should do this or not.
Me and my friend went upstairs to wait until all the initial operation procedures were finished before the actual surgery started. My friend also advised me that if I wasn't very sure, maybe I shouldn't go through the ordeal. She told me that the operation room was usually sterilised and the sterilant is dispersed in the air, which sometimes makes people faint, all the more reason for me to think. Man, I was such an on-off switch. I really couldn't decide. When one reason made me decide that I should observe the surgery, some other reason told me not to. I was still undecided when someone came up to let me know that everyone was waiting for me at the operation room. That's it. I decided then. My friend wished me luck and off I went.
Uncle stood by me and stayed close to me during the entire duration of the surgery, lest I faint and prove to be an interruption. As the surgery progressed, Uncle explained each procedure to me. The only thing I couldn't watch was the initial incision that was made on the lady's abdomen. Once that was done, I was all eyes glued to the procedure and all ears listening to what Uncle was telling me. The surgery was not complicated and pretty soon, a baby boy made his way out of his mother's womb. I couldn't believe me eyes. It was amazing, to see that baby emerge out of his mom, breathing his first breath and kicking his legs in the air. He was very active during the first few minutes of his arrival. Once the only physical link to his mom was cut off, the doctor held him upside down to let the blood flow into this body everywhere.
He was pink, and gooey, and was writhing in the hands of the doctor. I have seen lots of movies where when a baby is born, the only indication to the people waiting outside the room is the baby's screams. Hear the baby scream, and ah, all is well. I used to think that was just someone's imagination. Oh well, I was so wrong. The doctor held the baby upside down, and to my surprise, gave him a nice spank on his bum. The baby screamed and everyone in the operation room breathed a sigh of relief. All's well! The baby's alive. One of the nurses took off to tell the relatives the news. The doctor tossed the baby into a basin and another nurse took the baby to be cleaned up. Then he set about patching the lady up and I lost my interest at the operating end. I wanted to look at the baby.
The baby was in another room so I went there to take a peak. He opened his eyes and looked straight at me. I was awestruck. I started to think about all sorts of things when I saw his eyes... My dog Fluffy's eyes... she had such huge pretty eyes, that I could just gaze at them and lose myself; And I thought of a movie where this guy delivers an alien baby, and he looks into its giant squid eyes and he becomes speechless, until the baby throws up on him.
I looked at the jet black eyes of the baby looking into me and I couldn't say a word. It was the most amazing thing I ever witnessed. I didn't know what to say to Uncle and Aunty. My face was all smiles, no words. I went up to the house where my friend was eagerly expecting to see a fainted me. I was all jumpy and excited. I couldn't stop explaining what I saw and what I felt when I saw that little heart encased in a baby get out to face the world, a world full of ups and downs, bumps and crevices, love and hate, trust and betrayal, richness and poverty...
6 a.m. 6: 30 a.m. No one showed up yet. I was wondering whether I should go and grab some breakfast when I saw the two of them walking towards me. Finally, our plans to visit my friend's house were under way! After a lot of advice as to the care of my scooty to the roomate (I was leaving my bike with her for a couple of days until we came back), me and my friend walked towards the bus station, looked for a bus that would take us where we had to go, boarded it, and waited. Again.
The bus finally took off from the bus station at 7:30 a.m. By that time, I had finished my bag of chips and was looking for something else to eat. Boy was I so hungry! Thankfully the bus stopped at another bus station in the outskirts of the city and we both went to a shop close by and got me more chips and some biscuits. 8:15 a.m. and our journey finally started.
The journey was uneventful all the way. The bus stopped after an hour's journey and we had a break. The bus continued the next two hours and finally we got to our destination by 11 a.m. From the bus station, we took an auto to get to my friend's house... a short ride of 5 minutes into a maze of small narrow streets and there we were. My friend's parents are doctors; Mom's a gynecologist and Dad's an orthopedic. They have a clinic below their house. They also have an operation facility for surgeries.
We friends dumped our baggage at our rooms above the clinic and went downstairs to say hello to my hosts. My friend had told me earlier that every time she visited, coincidentally, her mom had to operate on a patient and deliver a baby which meant that most of the quality time she could have possibly shared with her mom were gone into the service of some desperate baby trying to make its way into the world. This time though, if it happened, she asked me if I would be interested in observing how a cesarean section operation is done, provided her parents agree to me being present in the operating room. I was thrilled at the thought of such a possibilty occuring, then I wasn't so sure, then I thought I should not miss it, then I thought maybe I should. With all these thoughts on my mind, I said hello to Uncle and Aunty.
Both of them were very happy that I was there. My friend immediately asked her mom if she had a surgery scheduled that afternoon, and if she did, can Grace please observe it? Uncle was thrilled that I was so interested in the idea. He told me that he had suggested so many times to his daughter to observe a surgery or two, but she had turned the offer down because she didn't like the idea of looking at people being cut open. He thought it was a shame that the daughter of a doctor should think that way. Oh well, there I was to compensate for his daughter!
Even though Uncle was an orthopedic, he assisted Aunty with many of her cases. He took sole charge of me and gave me a description of what to expect in a C-section operation. He told me that there would be a whole lot of blood on the run and that if I had any queasy feelings about watching a pool of blood overflow, I should forget about the idea of observing a surgery. I had already witnessed a surgery for an appendix removal during a training session two summers ago, so I wasn't so very scared. But still, I wasn't sure of whether I should do this or not.
Me and my friend went upstairs to wait until all the initial operation procedures were finished before the actual surgery started. My friend also advised me that if I wasn't very sure, maybe I shouldn't go through the ordeal. She told me that the operation room was usually sterilised and the sterilant is dispersed in the air, which sometimes makes people faint, all the more reason for me to think. Man, I was such an on-off switch. I really couldn't decide. When one reason made me decide that I should observe the surgery, some other reason told me not to. I was still undecided when someone came up to let me know that everyone was waiting for me at the operation room. That's it. I decided then. My friend wished me luck and off I went.
Uncle stood by me and stayed close to me during the entire duration of the surgery, lest I faint and prove to be an interruption. As the surgery progressed, Uncle explained each procedure to me. The only thing I couldn't watch was the initial incision that was made on the lady's abdomen. Once that was done, I was all eyes glued to the procedure and all ears listening to what Uncle was telling me. The surgery was not complicated and pretty soon, a baby boy made his way out of his mother's womb. I couldn't believe me eyes. It was amazing, to see that baby emerge out of his mom, breathing his first breath and kicking his legs in the air. He was very active during the first few minutes of his arrival. Once the only physical link to his mom was cut off, the doctor held him upside down to let the blood flow into this body everywhere.
He was pink, and gooey, and was writhing in the hands of the doctor. I have seen lots of movies where when a baby is born, the only indication to the people waiting outside the room is the baby's screams. Hear the baby scream, and ah, all is well. I used to think that was just someone's imagination. Oh well, I was so wrong. The doctor held the baby upside down, and to my surprise, gave him a nice spank on his bum. The baby screamed and everyone in the operation room breathed a sigh of relief. All's well! The baby's alive. One of the nurses took off to tell the relatives the news. The doctor tossed the baby into a basin and another nurse took the baby to be cleaned up. Then he set about patching the lady up and I lost my interest at the operating end. I wanted to look at the baby.
The baby was in another room so I went there to take a peak. He opened his eyes and looked straight at me. I was awestruck. I started to think about all sorts of things when I saw his eyes... My dog Fluffy's eyes... she had such huge pretty eyes, that I could just gaze at them and lose myself; And I thought of a movie where this guy delivers an alien baby, and he looks into its giant squid eyes and he becomes speechless, until the baby throws up on him.
I looked at the jet black eyes of the baby looking into me and I couldn't say a word. It was the most amazing thing I ever witnessed. I didn't know what to say to Uncle and Aunty. My face was all smiles, no words. I went up to the house where my friend was eagerly expecting to see a fainted me. I was all jumpy and excited. I couldn't stop explaining what I saw and what I felt when I saw that little heart encased in a baby get out to face the world, a world full of ups and downs, bumps and crevices, love and hate, trust and betrayal, richness and poverty...
posted by Grace at 7:13 AM
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