Ok hold on .. it's going to be a long post.
Ever since I can remember my mother told me about my oldest brother who died as a baby after one week of being born.
Considering my mother is also a Gyneaacologist , we have routinely gotten "mithai" (a box of traditional sweets ) from hospital from new parents after Ammi had delivered their babies either normal or through Caesarian.
Also it is always very interesting, sometimes annoying to see my mother wash dinner plates because she takes a long time .. and I mean a looooong time. Took me some years to I understand that she treats them the same as her surgical instruments.
I have gone on shopping spree of surgical instruments kits with her to inner Lahore. She was given around 100k by the hospital to make three separate surgical kits for c Section so that they can be used one after the other while the first one is being sterilised again and there is a third one as backup. Infections went down zero in hospital after this intervention.
I have seen her give baths to my six year old son. Till this day my son insists on getting a bath from my mother whenever we go to her home because in his words " I am not gentle and slow, rather hurried and not use hot water" . She can sterilise my son's skin and hair!!!!
It so happens that only a couple of years ago my mother had bypass "cbge" surgery. Now as far as surgeries go this one is a literal #%^*^*%%#. So she was in hospital and my elder brother, myself and my younger sister were sitting next to our father. And he told us stories. This one also got out.
My oldest brother when he was born , at that time ultrasounds were not readily available. So she could not gauge the gravity of situation. And my brother was born premature. He was beautiful. Was given a name Sulayman a.k.a Sunny. He died on the 8th day. My parents were devastated. My father had to go to a training for six months in France after another 8 days. He wanted to cancel it. But my mom told him to not miss the opportunity. So he went with a heavy heart. My mom went with her parents in law to spend the rest of her 12 weeks maternity leave. This was the only time she lived with her father-in-law and mother in law (my grandparents )together. It was only 10 months after that my grandfather died.
After six months of completing the training in France my father topped that training and this was the trajectory that helped him go up his careeer.
Next year Ammi was offered graduation course of gynaecology in another city. In my father words " Allah works in mysterious ways. Had Sunny been alive your mother would never have opted for that course because he must be only a year at that time. And had your mother not completed this course she would never have had a successful career later on as a gynaecologist in the army"
Next year Ammi started this course. It was a two years course. And after almost one year she was now expecting my brother. Being on a heavier side her pregnancy was kind of hidden. Which again was a good thing because her advisor would not take graduation students who were pregnant because of gruelling situations. She got through the training and her preganacy was only shown as a result of a bet that another senior doctor made with said advisor !
Ammi is an amazing doctor. She counsels parents who lose children due to sudden infant syndrome, because she lost one herself. She found Allah because she wanted answers about that ordeal. I have heard her quote the Moses and Khizar story to my aunt when she lost her baby. She fights for some whose preganancy is difficult and they get shit from their in laws.
She recently made sure one of her parents stayed extra 8 days in hospital resting because her in laws would make her work once she goes back.
She counseled a patient whose father in law would complain about her food and laundry capacity every weekend to her out of city husband. After she counselling this women went back home and refused to cook and clean for the father in law during the week saying " Even if I do it, you would complain to my husband and get me in trouble this weekend like every previous weekend so why should I?" No food and no clean laundry for one week and later on the weekend the father in law was all in praises of this women in front of her husband. All thanks to my mothers counselling. ( kindly note she comes from a family of lawyers)
She further stood up for a patient and called hospital security on the mother in law after she treated the daughter in law ( patient who was having trouble conceiving a bab) in a very uncouth manner in front of her. Than she called the husband scolded him and send patient back to home with her mother and told her to get divorce if the husband does not pull up his socks and defend her , all in front of a hall of patients pregnant women and their families in various stages.
That patient now lives in a separate house with her husband and two kids.
I have numerous stories of my mom and her kick-ass patient and office dealings. Point is my mom is a bad ass doctor. She is an awesome human being. She is kind to all. And in this story an angle baby of 8 days plays a huge role.
