A portion of her life's purpose

Dhanya removed her cap and came out of the operation theater. Four anxious faces stared at her. She did not know how to convey the news. After all such things are not given a lot of importance in medical training. Mustering a lot of courage she said “I am sorry. We were able to save the mother but not the baby.”

The women in the crowd immediately started weeping loudly. As she moved away she heard one of the distant relatives comment. “I kept insisting that we should go to Dr.Yashoda’s maternity hospital. She is the best in town. Here they have sent a freshman to do the surgery and look what has happened.”

It was Dhanya’s first assignment at the Chaturvedi Hospital. For the past three years she had just been assisting the senior gynecologists in the C-section surgeries. When Dr.Geetha, the head of gynecology had asked her to handle this one on her own she had been happy about the opportunity, a little tensed about doing it right and at the same time a little relieved as it was not a very complicated case. Medicine is one area where no one can predict what happens when. Miracles are common. So are mishaps. Often we hear “This can happen in one in a thousand cases.” This just happened to be a similar one where a seemingly usual procedure had gone haywire. Dr.Smitha her immediate superior had been present to assist her and take control of things if necessary. But things had gone beyond her control as well.

Dhanya sat in her room, hands on her forehead, tears slowly trickling down. With just three years in the real world arena she had not been hardened enough. She heard a knock on the door. Dr.Smitha came in.

“Dhanya, Are you alright?”

Quickly wiping her tears she responded “Yes doctor.”

“Are you crying? Such things happen in our profession Dhanya. There was no fault in your end today.
I have explained the circumstances to Dr.Geetha and she is in total agreement. It was just unfortunate that this happened to be your first case. I have spoken to the family as well.
Sometimes fate has the upper hand and the medical world stands helpless.”

Dhanya nodded silently.

“You were supposed to take a one week off starting tomorrow right. Forget this whole episode and have a good time at your vacation. Come back for a fresh start.”

“I am thinking of canceling it. I don’t deserve a break.”

“Don’t be stupid, Dhanya. Just go.”

“Hmmm”

Vikram, an anesthetist and Dhanya were celebrating their wedding anniversary the following week. Their family friend owned an estate in the hills of Wyanad and had offered them a week’s accommodation at his bungalow there.

Dhanya remained withdrawn and silent right from the moment they set out. The face of the dead baby kept coming back to her mind. Vikram had an amazing sense of humor and could easily lift up the spirits of those around him. Even he could only manage to create a weak smile on her face. The day they reached there were heavy rains with thunder and lightning. Dhanya had a disturbed sleep. Her mind was like the weather outside.

On the second night of their stay, their bungalow caretaker had arranged a performance by the local tribal group. Accompanied by the other staff of the estate they traveled in a jeep to the hamlet of the tribals. As they alighted, the tribal women garlanded them and then they were led to high raised seats decorated with flowers. To the accompaniment of flutes and weird looking drums the tribals began their traditional dance. They were offered a drink made from coconut water. The cool evening breeze, the refreshing drink and the rhythm of the beats had a great effect on Dhanya. She leaned on Vikram and started tapping her feet to the beats, letting herself immerse in the celebration.

Around a couple of hours passed. Suddenly a few tribal women came running and tried to convey something in their chieftain’s ear. A couple of other men joined the discussion. Dhanya could hear only tensed murmurs. The group started moving fast towards one of the huts in the corner of the hamlet.

Dhanya stood up and went after them. As she neared the hut Dhanya could hear the screams of a young girl. She went inside. A pregnant girl who looked not more than twenty lay on the floor writhing in pain. A short plump lady whom she made out as the tribal midwife was sobbing loudly and helplessly. She had done all that she knew; all that she could and had now lost hopes of saving the mother and the child.

Dhanya was no longer the tourist having fun. The doctor in her was fully alert now. She summoned the estate manager immediately to do the translation for her.

“I am a doctor. Let me have a look”

After examining she turned to the chieftain.

“Let us take her to the hospital immediately. We have the jeep that we came in.”

The tribal folks never went outside of their traditional medicine and methods. In this particular instance they knew it was a choice between listening to her and sending the girl to her death. They followed her orders strictly to the word. Slowly four of them carried the shrieking girl to the jeep. Vikram who had become aware of the happenings by now got into the jeep along with Dhanya and two of the tribal women and their chieftain.

Their only choice was a medical center around three miles away. The routes to the bigger hospitals in the nearby town had been blocked by huge landslides that occurred that morning.

The medical center had only one duty doctor and a couple of nurses. Dhanya wasted no time and explained the situation to them. The duty doctor was inexperienced and not a surgeon.

“This seems to be a case that needs immediate C-section. That’s beyond my expertise. The senior doctors who normally handle such cases have gone to the town.”

Dhanya said “I am a gynecologist myself. My husband here is an anesthetist. The roads to the hospital are blocked. What needs to be done needs to be done here and NOW.”

“Please update us on what facilities you have” Vikram added.

“But…but…I cannot let you work here without any permission from the authorities”

“Get me your authority’s number. I’ll talk to him”

“The lines are dead ma’m. The landslide has us totally cut off now.”

“Well, then you have to decide and please understand that you have to permit us. THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION. It’s a case of life and death here.”

Halfheartedly the duty doctor relented and led Vikram and Dhanya inside. The facilities available were bare-minimal; very inferior compared to the state-of-the-art gadgets available at their workplaces. But they could still go ahead with the surgery. The girl was brought inside. Vikram set to work wasting no time.
Before administering the anesthesia Dhanya looked at the girl in the eye and said “Don’t worry. You will be fine. I will not let anything happen to you or your baby. Trust me”

With unperturbed concentration the team of five Dhaniya, Vikram, the duty doctor and the two nurses started working on the challenge life had suddenly thrown in front of them. A few other tribals had reached by now. They all started singing their sacred songs outside. As minutes flew their chants grew louder and louder. Suddenly the air was pierced with an infant’s cries. Within seconds another infant’s cry followed.

Dhanya came out holding two babies wrapped in green hospital cloth. The new lives had their eyes wide open as if they were all eager to see their kith and kin.

“Its one boy and one girl.” beamed Dhanya.

“She is doing good but she might have to be here for three days.” The tribals fell at her feet to thank her.
Dhanya found her tears flowing uncontrollably. She was filled with ecstatic joy; a sense of achievement; a great satisfaction. She felt that she had completed a portion of her life’s purpose.
An hour later Dhanya and Vikram got dropped at the estate bungalow.
”What a night!” he exclaimed as he flopped on the couch next to her.

“Want some tea?” he asked.” Wait! I’ll make some”

When he returned from the kitchen with a steaming cup of tea in his hand he found Dhanya fast asleep cuddled on the couch. There was a calmness and peace in her face that he had not seen for quite some time. He covered her in a blanket and gently planted a kiss on her forehead.