15 Years Ago...

Salam. It is just approaching 2 am now. And i can remember it very clearly just as if it had just happened. This time fifteen years ago, i was being wheeled out to the observation room just after my caeserian operation which started at 12 am. At exactly 12.47 am 1992, my son AHMAD ASHRAF ILMAN B. ZULBAHRI was born!
How time flies...!But you know what... the events of that day still linger fresh in my mind. 24 hours before that, i was woken up at midnite by a sudden sharp pain in my abdomen. Imagine! I had been staying in room 12 of the maternity ward for the past 2 months, yet i didnt know where the emergency button was. So, eventually i had to walk prostrate, to the nurse's desk. My room was right at the end of the corridor!
The night nurse then rushed me to the labor room where a dr. nizam examined me. He said i was not yet in labor so he did not know why i was having this severe abdominal pain. Immediately he placed the ctg (I think thts whats its called - the gadget that can detect baby's hearbeat) over my tummy - baby's heart beat seemed normal enough - no signs of stress.
But i was surely in severe stress. The pain was so that i had difficulty inhaling. Dr. Nizam informed the specialist who was in charge of taking care of my pregnancy, dear Dr. Marlik Abu. Soon i was given a strong pain killer which finally help me to sleep.
The next morning, i woke up quite late, missing the fajr prayer due to the sedative. The pain was a dull ache by then, and when dr. marlik came to see me, he said he wasnt sure what was causing me the pain, n wanted to investigate further to see if it was appendicitis, considering the pain seemed to concentrate on my right side.
Later that afternoon, dear hubby came to visit. Of all days, on that particular day, he said that he was not in office - doing field job. Therefore he would probably not be able to see me that evening, and i wouldn not be able to contact him...that time the only phone that would resemble a mobile would be the ATUR, whch only the select rich can afford! Bummer...i told him about my incident the night before, but he said there was nothing he could do. OKay...
Then just after he had left, i went to the to toilet to prepare myself for the Zohr prayer. It was then that i realised I was "showing"...the telltale clot of blood which signifies the beginnings of labour.
Once again i walked out to the nurse's table and informed them. Once again i was wheeled to the labour waiting room, n placed under observatio. Strangely i did not feel any pain at all at that time. I was there till nearly 4 pm...shivering. Baby showed no signs of stress at all. Then one of the nurses said, i could go back to my room and prepare mysel for surgery and contact the necessary individuals who could wait for me. Alas, there was no way i could contact my hubby so instead i contacted my eldest sister, Kak Ijah who lived near the hospital. In no time, she was there, looking out for me and asking me for my husband's whereabout. I was almost embarrassed to tell her that my hubby who was practically with me almost all the time throughout my pregnancy was suddenly not reachable on this particular day - what irony! Then as the nurse came n informed me i had to go and wait in the labor waiting room, my sister promised to inform my mom n other siblings. I still could not contact hubby.
Dr. Marlik had scheduled my operation for the 2nd of September, but my sudden abdominal pain had changed things. I was going to hv my C-section that night. But it was a busy night, and the OT was always occupied. I had to wait my turn, n stay hungry...
Suddenly at nearly seven, dear hubby turned up. I asked him if my sister had managed to contact him, and he said he didnt even know i was already in labor waiting room. He had come, because his female colleagues had shooed him from the field site when they learnt that i was having abdominal pain. They told him, "dont be a fool, your wife's in labour - what are you doing here?" God bless those experienced ladies...
So it was by the Grace of God, that my hubby could wait for me whilst i was being prepared for the C-section. He could see many pregnant mothers coming n leaving the labor room. Finally i guessed he could not keep it to himself any longer- his anxieties. He whispered to me, please make sure that our baby does not get mixed up with the other newborn babies! i wanted to smile. I told him, "i will be knocked out..how can i do that?" He was adamant - "Just please try" he had said.
It turned out that only at midnite the labor room was finally ready. When i was wheeled into the OT, dr. marlik was already there, his usual calm and confident ways was comforting to my worried and anxious mind. Dr. Marlik had given me the assurance that he would personally do the C-section for me, no matter what time of day it was. He had come at near midnight just to perform my C-section.
Everything went well with the operation, except for a slight glitch at the end. DR. Marlik had woken me up just after the op to inform me i had a baby boy...and suddenly i could not breathe! I panicked n told him urgently so. He told me to calm down, but still i could not breathe! That was surely a moment of panic there. Dear God, dont tell me, my newborn is going to lose his mom at such tender tender age? My kidney problems n the medication i was on made me feel i had reasons to worry. So dr. marlik ordered the anaesthetist to give me something, n finally i managed to breathe again...Alhamdulillah...
I came to again, when the nurses woke me up to show my baby boy - my baby whom i was praying for the past 8 years! I had already lost Abdullah 6 years ago, and finally i got the chance to be a mom. When the nurse showed me Ashraf, he was wearing the hospital cap, n his face looked all screwed up..prbably angry i was kissing him non stop. He was the cutest baby i hv ever set my eyes on.
It was touching to learn later that throughout my operation, my whole family, in laws n all were waiting outside the building as a symbol of their support. Hey you guys....you are the greatest!!!
From 1 am mind you...
And so at 12.47 am 28/8/1992, i finally became a mom, UMMI. It was just as my dearest dad, Allah bless his soul, had predicted. Once he told me, when i was busy trying to get pregnant n hv a baby, he said,"As soon as i m gone, u will hv a baby," he had said simply. Abah passed away on 27/11/1991. AHMAD ASHRAF ILMAN was born on 28/8/1992, exactly 9 months after his demise...Allah bless you, Abah. It was a friday...Abah was born on Friday, Ashraf was born on a friday too.He was 47 cm long, and weighed 2.8kg. For him, i had stayed in the hospital for 2 months, alone in ward 12, and that gave me the chance to read as many books on parenting, and i even managed to finish the quran(khatam) twice!. I knew Ashraf was special.
And now, in no time at all, my little baby has turned 15 today - Happy Birthday My Darling Son!