The Last Days at Home

THIS DAY LAST YEAR - Chapter 8

The Last Days at Home.

May 2021

Dad, Mum, and I were quarantined away for the next few days. By April 27th, I tested positive, and Maa tested negative for Covid. We continued our same routine of chat, prayer, and medicines.

May 1st, 2021

Everything seemed normal.

Gradually, things turned to become the last timers.

May 2nd, 2021

It was a Sunday. Maa woke up all tired and still made the bread for communion. This was her last Sunday and the Last time she made the bread.

So we participated in the worship separately, and all seemed calm till 10:00 PM.

At 10 in the night, I was talking to my cousin (Sunny Anna), and dad kept continuously calling me. I cut the call and immediately dialled dad. Even before he said anything, I knew something was wrong. He was breathing really heavily, and I could hear his breathlessness. Dad told me that his oxygen levels were coming down and if it continued to do so in the next half an hour, we needed to take him to the hospital. I had a sudden thud in my heart, thinking how normal things were just a few seconds ago. I immediately knelt down, joined my hands, and prayed till my phone rang again. When I picked up my phone for the first time, I was scared to answer Dad’s call. I picked it up, and there it was the most dreaded phrase, we need to go to the hospital. I had no clue, absolutely nothing. As I did not see dad for the past week, I put on some clothes and came out of my room and saw Maa engulfed with tears and worry. I asked her to go out and stay away from us.

What has Covid done to us? I had to literally tell Mumma to go out and stay away from us. It was a pathetic situation to do this to my mum, to keep her safe. I wish I did not have to stay away, I wish I could go and hug her. But all I could do was say, Mumma! Daddy is doing fine. I walked into dads room, and I was worried looking at him. He lost weight and became very weak that he could not even walk with support. So I made him sit in the lift, closed the door, and got into the car.

Flashbacks from 2017 started in my head. Dad always wanted me to learn to drive. So that in case of emergencies, I could take them to the hospital. And I was doing it right then. Dad got into the car, and we drove to the hospital. All along the way, Dad was having a lot of trouble breathing. We got into the hospital, and believe me, it was chaos. People were just lying on the floor waiting to get admitted. People were crying, praying, and begging the hospital management to take them in. This was the beginning of the second wave.

We were fortunate to know a Doctor, so we went inside the emergency and dad was given a bed. He was not admitted immediately but was just allowed to rest. The doctors took their own sweet time to check on dad. I had my mask on, and believe me, it was drenched with my tears.

I prayed, Lord! Enough! You have tested us. We have been faithful. Now we cannot handle anything further. Please don’t test us more. You let Dad test positive, fine. You let me test positive. fine, dad is now in the hospital fine, but now enough! Please! We have no more courage to stay strong. So please heal Daddy. I exactly prayed in the same manner. I have no count of how many times I prayed as I had nothing else to do. There was nobody else with us. It was only Dad and me. Dad was dozing off and getting up within seconds because he was unable to breathe. At times, when he dozed off, I was so terrified that I put my hand on to see if he was breathing or not. While standing close to Dad’s bed, I checked my phone, and as soon as I opened my WhatsApp, I saw the message that my grandma’s sister went to be with the Lord. I knew the Lord would never let us down, but somewhere deep in my heart, I was terrified. To be honest, no word can describe that dear inside when you even think of losing a loved one.

Few church uncles (Vinod uncle, Chitti Babu Anna, Rajesh Anna, Dickie Mama) were waiting outside the hospital for us. After waiting for two hours, I spoke to the ward boys and doctors. I spoke a little sternly and said, it’s been two hours since we came, and no treatment started. Then they put on an oxygen mask for dad. All along I stood there crying and praying. I stared at the oxymeters endlessly. The beeps of the hospital equipment terrify me to this day.

After another hour, they admitted dad as an in-patient and asked me to pay the bills. All the cards and finance stuff were in my hands now. They shifted Daddy to the ICU, and I followed him. It was a newly opened ward, and dad was the first patient there. I looked at the room and thought it was nice, not knowing that within a few hours, I would bring Maa to the same room. I tucked daddy into his hospital bed and kissed him goodbye. All along I controlled my emotions. But the moment I walked out of the ICU, I busted into tears. I walked to my car and begged the Lord to make things right. I drove back home sobbing, and all the church uncles followed me to make sure I got back home safe. It was 4 in the morning (The early hours of May 3rd)

As I drove close to home, I saw Mumma standing outside waiting for me to come back home. This was the last time she waited for me. The last night at home and the last time she was in our house. Cause that night, I made Mumma stay with grandma. If I ever knew these were the last timers, I would not have thought about covid or any other restriction. I would have just held Maa tight in my arms.

Dear Reader,

If your parents show you extra love and care, never forbid them. If they hug or kiss you in public, be thankful that you are being loved and pampered. Enjoy the love and care they give you cause suddenly everything might just change, and they can be gone. Now, every time I leave home, I miss turning back and waving goodbye to Maa. And every time I come back home, I miss her waiting for me at the door. Maa had a special spot near the window, where she used to peep and look over me. I always look up to her spot and miss watching her beautiful face.

And there, they were the last days at home

This Day Last Year.

By HIS Grace,

A Daughter with A Mother in Heaven.

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