Yaqeen ka Safar - The Journey of Faith

9

Zubia saw Kashmala in the hospital the next day, and only returned her greeting with dry civility. Kashmala sat on a chair waiting while Zubia busily checked the blood pressure of the patient sitting in front of her. Handing over the prescription and putting away the sphygmomanometer, she turned to the nurse and asked her to call in the next patient.

"You're mad at us and you won't even listen to us. The truth is, we did intentionally hide Lala's identity from you at first. The things you said about him were funny and we enjoyed the laugh. But we really didn't mean to embarrass you in front of Lala yesterday, trust me! When he leaves the house in the morning, he never comes back before nightfall. Saim and I had already decided to tell you about our relationship with him when we invited you over...but suddenly, unexpectedly, he came back at that moment. And we don't even know why you're so convinced that he would mind your friendship with us! He's not so narrow minded to think weird things just because he saw you there with us. Believe me, he's an intelligent man, he probably knows you enough by now." Kashmala's emphatic tirade was delivered before the next patient entered the room. 

Ignoring the speech completely, Zubia addressed the woman who now waited in front of her. 

"Please sit."

The woman was telling her about the child she held in her arms. He was sick, and had vomited many times. Zubia listened to everything the woman had to say and explained how to prepare ORS for the child.

"He's dehydrated because of the vomiting. Give him a bit of ORS every couple of hours and he'll be fine."

As she talked to her patient, she peeked at Kashmala out of the corner of her eye, and saw her leaving with a disheartened face.

"Kashmala, I'm not mad at you guys anymore."

Kashmala whipped around immediately with a huge grin on her face. "Really?"

"Yep. But you should still leave for the time being, these are patient rush-hours"

Cheered up, Kashmala nodded and left the room.

*******

"You're spoiling the kids. That boy at bed number seven, he simply refuses to get his injections from the nurse! He's dead set on wanting Doctor Zubia to do them for him." Doctor Majid complained to Zubia, who was currently on break.

"One who isn't a good person can never be a good doctor." Doctor Shahzor had said these golden words once in passing. And she had vowed to not forget them. If a doctor is kind, helpful, and loving, their words alone can solve half of the patient's problems. This was exactly what she had been trying to follow. The first time she did this was with Gul Khan, a leg amputee who had lost the will to live. Zubia had been faced with failure after her first few tries, but she resolved to not give up. How long could the child hold out? He gave in to her words of hope soon enough. Zubia had then asked Doctor Tajdar to buy children's storybooks, chocolates and sweets for her, and used those to help him further. Her efforts had helped decrease the helplessness that Gul Khan felt.

She didn't even need to discuss the possibility of an artificial leg with Doctor Asifa, the senior doctors had already planned on preparing for one. Many, many days later, when Gul Khan was finally discharged from the hospital, he had formed a deep friendship with Zubia. His parents had been extremely thankful to her, to the extent that his mother even gave her a self-hand-embroidered dupatta  as a gift. Zubia wasn't really supposed to receive gifts, but she accepted it as to not break the dear woman's heart. After that experience, she deliberately tried her hardest to form a bond with the young patients.

The children didn't like Nurse Razia, and Doctor Tajdar's hard tone and tough personality scared them to bits, but Zubia was their favorite. She would give them candies and chocolates, talk to them as a friend and tell them wonderful stories. In return they would quietly eat their pills, get their shots, and bear through their IVs.

When she entered the children's ward, Doctor Shahzor and Doctor Asfandyar both stood by the bed in the corner. The child was being examined extensively while the two doctors discussed something in low voices. Seeing them together, Zubia understood the severity of the child's condition. His father had gone through hoops just for getting his sick kid to the hospital. He and his son lived in another village and transportation routes had been down due to a recent spell of bad weather. The child had been admitted just that morning. The doctors exchanged tensed glances after their checkup, Zubia noted, as she gave Bed Number Seven his shot.

As the two left the ward, Zubia playfully scolded her rebellious young friend. "So you refuse to get your injections if I'm not here, huh? What a naughty child you are!"

The boy lowered his head in shame. Casting one last curious glance at the patient in the corner, Zubia stepped out.

"It's too late. We can't do anything at this point." Doctor Shahzor's voice echoed in the corridor. Doctor Asfandyar said something in reply but his voice was too low for Zubia to hear. Her heart sank. Every time she saw someone losing their fight for life, she felt the same way. She had once discussed this problem with Doctor Asifa, too. The senior woman had consoled her with warm words.

"You're young, new, and inexperienced, which is why you feel this way. You'll get used to it with time. This is a part of our job. Life or death, we have to be prepared for anything and everything. Of course we want to save the life of every patient we encounter, but nothing goes against God's will. How can we save someone whose time is up?"

*******