Near To Death

Sheela was a very bright student, in fact, one of the toppers of the school. She was her mam's favorite student too and why not, she excelled in both academics and extracurricular activities. She was good looking too with long beautiful hair, which her mom used to braid into two plaits. Every day, she would get rose to her, ma'am, from her garden.

Sheela used to participate in sports day every year, and undoubtedly the fastest runner in school. There was a separate showcase in her house meant to display her trophies. This time also she was sure of winning the running race. "On your marks" heard Sheela and as soon as the whistle was blown, she kicked off for a good start. She ran like never before because this was her last year in school. Just a few inches away from the finishing line, she could see the ribbon and felt a sharp, throbbing pain in her head.

Next thing, she knew was, she was being taken care of by her ma'am and shortly joined by her parents. Her mother started complaining about Sheela to her ma'am that since she had skipped her breakfast, she had fallen down on the ground. Her ma'am said that she would advise Sheela on the same and sent her home with her parents. Sheela did feel bad about not winning the race but made up her mind to not miss her breakfast as advised by her ma'am.

The next day, when she came to school, she started copying down the notes from the board, but the letters were looking blurred for her. She asked her ma'am's permission to sit in the front row so that she could see the board better to which her ma'am agreed too. This happened repetitively for 2 consecutive days with headache and her ma'am asked her to go to the doctor and get her eyesight checked. When Sheela told this to her parents, they ignored it saying that it was because of her irregular study habits, as she used to stay up till late night for studying.

The exams approached soon and despite her headache and blurred vision, Sheela somehow gave her exams. It was the last exam, and her favorite subject math, which she had prepared very well, she got ready soon and entered the exam hall. She felt a sudden jerk in her neck and felt giddiness which made her fall down on the desk. As Sheela was unconscious, she was rushed immediately to the hospital.

Her favorite ma'am was by the bedside. Her parents also rushed in. They were in for a shock because they were sure that Sheela would definitely secure rank and had never expected that they would see her on the hospital bed. The nurse told everyone to move out as the head doctor wanted to check her.

The doctor had suggested a CT scan of the head after she gains consciousness. Sheela's parents and her ma'am waited outside the room and were called inside the room by the nurse as Sheela had gained consciousness. Sheela's mother suggested that since she had gained consciousness, it would be better for her to go and write the exam. Sheela requested the nurse that she would allow her to go. The nurse called for the doctor who advised them against it and sent her for a CT scan.

The nurse changed Sheela's dress and got her ready for the scan. Sheela was taken to the scanning room. It was dark. Sheela had expected the nurse to be with her, but not finding her over there, she got scared and screamed. On hearing her scream, the nurse came in and told her that it would take only a few minutes for the scan and that no one was allowed during scanning. Feeling helpless, Sheela underwent scanning. The report was taken to the doctor.

Sheela asked her mother about the time, and her mother replied that it was already lunchtime and that she had missed her exam. Sheela was consoled by her ma'am. Her mother had bought food from the canteen and started feeding Sheela.

The report was read by the doctor. He didn't know how to give the news to the parents and Sheela. He called out for the parents inside his consultation room. Sheela's mom told her ma'am to take care of her and went inside the room. He told them to be brave before he could tell the details of the report.

The doctor told them that Sheela has a small hematoma that had to be operated immediately or else there will be loss of blood supply to the brain, and that it's dangerous to postpone things and that had they diagnosed this earlier, there would be some hope. Sheela's parents were at the shock. They didn't know what to say, her mother, especially recalled the incident when Sheela had told her about her ma'am telling her to get her eyes checked. She felt sad and started blaming herself for all the unfortunate things. Since the doctor had informed them that the surgery was urgent, they both came out and Sheela's mother informed her ma'am about it. Sheela's ma'am could not take it too. But, she told them to keep everything ready and that they should not delay it further.

The next day Sheela was taken to the preoperative room. The nurse was in tears. She didn't know how to tell Sheela that her long beautiful hair had to be cut. The nurse started combing her hair into a long, thick plait. Her ma'am and her mother came in and told the nurse to put the rose on her hair. Sheela doubted that something was terribly wrong and asked her ma'am about it. Her ma'am told her that since there was something wrong with the brain and that they had to operate on her. Tears welled up in her eyes. Sheela pleaded her mother that she didn't want a hair cut and she requested the nurse to not cut her hair. The nurse told them to go out since it was time. The nurse somehow pacified her by saying that after she cuts her hair, she would get much thicker hair. Sheela felt as if someone was poking her head with a knife when her hair was cut. She kept crying throughout.

Anesthesia was given to her, and on the way to OT, Sheela could overhear the duty doctors talking about her and that it's in God's hands now to save her. The operation was successful and Sheela was kept in ICU. She slowly regained consciousness only to be next to the bed of another patient who had undergone surgery the same day. All the while she was looking at the patient next to her and suddenly, she saw him gasping for breath, his chest was rising up and down, then she saw his eyes widely open up and the chest dropped down. It was a scary and a near to death experience for Sheela as she lying next to the dead body. Slowly, the body was moved out. Sheela was shifted to the ward too. She asked for the mirror, she smiled at herself, thanked God for the new lease of life. She held her mother's hand and promised her that she would definitely secure rank and fulfill her wishes and make her ma'am feel proud of her.