Have you ever faced death?
Have you ever felt that you will not survive?
Have you remembered everyone you love during that moment?
I have faced such an incident in my life where I thought I would no longer live. It was a nightmare, a tragic day of my life when life gave me a second chance to live.
I still remember the incident very clearly. It was 9th April 2010; the summer season was horrible to survive. I was pursuing my engineering, and the mid-semester exams were commencing after a week. My roommate’s birthday was on 8th April, and we planned to celebrate the next day on the 9th. We all dressed up, excited to go out in the city as our college campus was quite far.
We went to one restaurant, ordered food, started celebrating the birthday. In a circle, we chorused the “Happy Birthday” song and the cake cutting ceremony ended by clicking pictures with the birthday girl. I wasn’t feeling good. My friends noticed my uneasiness and asked me what is happening to me, why I am not eating.
While everyone enjoyed the party, I was shivering at the table and told my friends that I am not in a position to bear it further. My friends face turned pale when we had to finish the dinner quickly and rush back to the hostel because of me. A couple of girls kept chattering to see the doctor midway; they kept saying I should go by myself and see the doctor and reach the hostel soon.
I felt a bit awkward and was not in a position to argue. Once the rickshaw reached the hostel, I went upstairs quickly. I changed myself into a nightdress and covered myself with a blanket. My shivering increased, and my roommate saw me struggling. She kept her hand on my forehead; the temperature of my body was hot. She noticed that the shivering was proliferating and covered me with another blanket. My other few roommates saw me struggling as I was unable to breathe.
My friends took me downstairs to take permission from the warden to see the doctor. One of my roommates suggested we take her vehicle, but the warden denied seeing my condition. I was struggling with my breath, and it was shortening; my eyes were closing, and my friends started massaging my feet and hands. At that moment, my family’s picture was flashing in front of me. I was not able to speak, cry or even communicate with anyone. It was a horrible experience of my life where death was sitting in front of me, and I felt so helpless.
The whole hostel was out of their rooms, wondering what will happen to this girl if no immediate medication is available. My other roommate called the principal of our college and asked for urgent help. Our principal called our sister college’s principal to check the availability of the vehicle.
Our principal called and found that the vehicle was not available and we should not waste our time. He suggested we call “108” – an emergency helpline number. They came with an ambulance, and there was an EMT – Emergency Medical Technician present for pre-hospitalization care.
Two ward boys came with a stretcher, and they carried me in the ambulance keeping the oxygen mask on my nose. One of the ward boys asked my roommate whether I was suffering from any stress. My roommate said she is not aware. He further added any exams are approaching or not; she said yes, from next week, our mid-semesters are starting. The ward boy declared that due to stress or tension, my oxygen level was dropped and also dehydration could be a possibility because of the summer season.
We reached the hospital, they admitted me to ICU. The doctor said that if we had arrived even 2 minutes late, the case would have become so critical that I would not survive.
After 2 hours of hospitalization, the doctor advised me to drink water for another couple of hours to keep me hydrated. I remember I had five bottles of the 1-litre bottle. Around 12:30 AM, they discharged me. My family was not aware of this incident.
The next day in the morning, I called my parents and informed them that I am suffering from Malaria and want to come home. My mom insisted that my Dad shall come to pick me. When my Dad arrived at the station, he asked me about my health. At that time, I told him the whole incident; his jaw dropped, and he told me not to tell my mom until we reach home.
Once we reached home at 2:30 AM, I hugged my mom and informed her that it is too late now, let’s chat in the morning. The next day in the morning, I told her everything in detail, she cried a lot and hugged me tightly, she kissed me and took a promise from me that I won’t hide such incidents in future.
Have you ever faced any incident in your life? Please comment below.
ValorousSoul 