Faith

       
           She looked so frail - lying in the hospital bed. It was not how the girl remembered her mother - surrounded by monitors constantly making a racket as they kept a check on her mother's condition.  Her mother had always been vibrant, active and larger than life. When her father died , it was her mother who took charge of her and her two sisters bringing them up without letting them feel the loss of their father.Hiding away her own grief and putting the welfare of the young children above everything else. Her strong character helped the children face the world bravely despite the loss of their father.

          And now here  her mother was in a coma, fighting for her life. The unfairness of the of the whole situation struck her forcibly as she asked herself and God "Why me?" Why my mother? repeatedly. The cause for her happy and vibrant world had shrunk to this hospital bed.
         
          When she had got the news that her mother was in the  hospital , she thought it was probably due to a cold or fever - but when her sister told her that her mother was in a coma - her world came crashing down. Impending examinations notwithstanding she rushed home - and to her mother's bedside.The diagnosis mentioned a cardiac event. Along with a lot of other medical terms that did not make sense to her - not that it mattered- she just wanted her mother to get out of the hospital and continue doing what she was best at - looking after her and her sisters. The doctors had come and  examined her mother and in quite tones instructed the nurse about the dosage of drugs that needed to be administered. When the doctors felt that they were out of her earshot they had quietly shaken their heads. While she could not hear them she could definitely sense their negative attitude. Not that she could blame the doctors. It was already the third day that her mother was in coma.

         
          By the fourth day the situation started getting more desperate. The doctors suggested that her mother be moved home - an idea she shot down immediately. The visitations of the doctors became less frequent in face of her obstinacy. The nurses also came only to administer drugs as prescribed. Their bedside manner had definitely become more brusque after her decision for keeping her mother in the hospital. "Whatever happened to the 'angels of compassion' ?" She thought idly as she sat next to her mother's bed.

          The only people who came and offered her solace were the nuns from the local church who visited her regularly. They promised her that her mother would be in their prayers everyday and that they would plead her cause with God for a speedy recovery.

          Her own dialogue with God had hit a wall . She pleaded everyday with Him to make her mother well. As of the moment her prayers had still gone unanswered. And she had no great hope that something good would happen , since the doctors had failed. Logic said that her mother's chances of survival were very few. Emotion expected that a miracle would take place and her mother would soon sit up, get out of this sterile environment - and go home with her - as if nothing serious had happened.

          The next day and the day after that did not show any  significant change in her mother's condition. The doctors still came in the morning but only to wish her  good morning and ask her how she was - and then with a cursory glance at her mother's chart - leave.The nuns also came everyday and asked her to put her trust in God. For it was HE who would perform the Miracle of bringing her mother back.By the seventh day she she was ready to try anything including appealing to a different God. She rationalized that God was one and it did not matter as long as her mother got well. She was fast losing hope.After a long and difficult night she dragged herself to the small chapel in the hospital. She then had a dialogue with God pouring out her anguish at her helplessness. Once again she beseeched God to make her mother well.

          On reaching home she fell asleep. In her dreams she saw her mother back at home. Working away as usual - as if the illness was just a dream...

          She woke up in the morning with fresh hope in her heart. When she reached her mother's room she found an unusually heavy concentration of Doctors and nurses. She rushed to her mother's bedside, fearing the worst. The nurses were  smiling. "Your mother has responded to treatment"said one of them "She has regained consciousness".

          Was it her faith? Or was it the treatment? In her Heart she had no doubt that God had finally answered her prayers. Doctors had nothing to do with her mother's recovery....