We were at the wards, my pal and I . The neurosurgery ward to be precise, ward 4C. I wasn't meant to be there, we'd left our normal ward because my pal wanted to see her "baby". Her words, not mine. I was bored, curious so what the hell. We enter the paediatric unit which is painted in baby pink with little cartoon characters on the wall. Guess its to lighten the mood of both the patient and their parents, usually its the mother. (Being a mother is a vocation!) We head on over to see my pal's adopted child and I meet little Ray. Ray is busy suckling milk from a bottle with this really serene look on his face. My pal says hi and he lights up. She holds
his hand and begins chatting with him whilst holding his dainty little fingers
in her palm. He smiles. His smile, to put it in my pal’s words, is angelic.She can't seem to get enough of the little guy. Little Ray is four years old. He’s still too small for his age. He can’t speak
and he suffered from Hydrocephalus when he was born. Hydrocephalus is a
condition where the normal drainage of CSF in the brain is hindered due to
certain areas of its drainage system being blocked. So it starts to accumulate
in the skull causing the head to expand as the skull hasn't fully closed yet.
There are areas where it can still expand. Doctor’s treat it by placing a shunt
in the head which drains CSF and relieves the pressure in the brain. Once you
have a shunt though, you have it for life. Little Ray did undergo the surgery
years ago. However he can’t go home because his parents abandoned him here when
he was only two months old. Sometimes we choose to love.
On the next bed a piercing cry emanates from under a little
lesso. It startles me, so I go to take a peak. The minute I raise the lesso
comes another cry and I drop that lesso so fast… However the mom is right at my back meaning I
have to vehemently prove my innocence over how it’s not my fault. She just
smiles though, picks the baby up and we start talking. I meet little Malaika.
Malaika is two and a half months old.
She’s a little brown girl with little puffy eyes, which are closed right now
because she’s asleep. Her head is a bit big due to hydrocephalus too. She has
this adorable little nose and mouth which will have to undergo surgery to correct
the cleft lip and palate. Her upper lip didn’t fully form. She was placed for a
shunt on Saturday, that’s why she’s a bit irritable due to the pain in her
stitches. She’ll be fine though, in fact the hydrocephalus is reducing and her
skull sutures are beginning to meet. Her
mother adores her. Malaika is her first child. She knew Malaika had
hydrocephalus even before she was born but she carried the pregnancy gracefully
till the doctors advised for early delivery. Malaika was also born with a hole
in her heart but that closed before she even left the incubator. It was a small
hole. She’s her miracle child. She brightens up as she talks about Malaika’s
achievements. How she’s feisty, moves around a lot and has begun mimicking
sounds. Plus she has the most amazing eyes. Her mother believes that Malaika is
a very special gift from the man upstairs. I think it’s vice versa. Malaika has
a true angel watching over her and loving her shamelessly. If that’s not an
amazing defense portfolio from love I don’t know what is. However, I won’t
change my mind love, we’re still parting ways
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