DANGEROUS ARRANGEMENTS

THE CURSE

The situation with Peter challenged everything they knew, believed and loved up to that point. They felt helpless and equally hopeless that their little one, so precious and so innocent was suffering and there was nothing they or anyone else could do about it to save him. 

It was in these very dark moments they were approached by a few elder church members who were amongst the many visitors that came to the hospital frequently while Peter was admitted. These respected elders came to my parents during their lowest and most vulnerable moments of despair pulling them aside to tell them that they were being punished by God because they went against their parent's will and married. 

In fact, they insisted that that my parents were cursed because my father was from a Hindu background and that the worship of foreign gods was severe punishment, adding that their children would also be punished until the third and fourth generation. They were told that they needed to repent and give their lives over to God so that he would have mercy on them and save Peter's life.

Desperate to believe anything other than the grim prognosis that their baby would not make it, they accepted what was being told to them about their "forbidden union" and proceeded with their public confessions of wrongdoing in marrying against the wishes of my mother's family. They gave their lives to God again, even though they already done so two years before Peter was even born.

Days and dark nights passed, and my parents spent the greater part of those days in the hospital by Peter's side. They watched as his tiny being lay still and without life, hoping that a miracle from God would restore him back to the happy, healthy baby he once was only two weeks prior. 

The doctors who were administering care to Peter finally concluded that the MMR vaccine Peter had received a few days after his first birthday is what triggered the reaction in his body which eventually led him to this life altering state.

Distressed, confused and angered that this was the cause of their baby's current condition, they continued to struggle with blaming themselves and questioning God for not protecting their innocent child from this terrible ordeal. My mother said that a few of the hospital staff encouraged her and my father to seek litigation for malpractice against Peter's pediatrician. 

But since they were immigrants and very new to the US, they didn't know very much about the laws that were available to guide them or protect them from the possibility of an over-administration or a questionable batch of the vaccine.

Now nearly a month passed since Peter was admitted to the hospital and my parents took turns round the clock between work and caring for Matt who was just a little over two years of age. 

During this time, they also spent countless hours repenting their sins before God by fasting and praying. In these weak and vulnerable moments, they yielded to the guilt and condemnation that was spoken over them and believed that they needed to find themselves back in the good graces of God in order for Peter to make a full recovery.

Meanwhile, the doctors told them that they would need to decide soon because life support wasn't a permanent solution, considering he would likely never recover. Discouraged, but not ready to give up, they held fast to the belief that God would forgive them for their sins against Him and that their baby would make a miraculous full recovery.