It was early in the morning and I could barely open my eyes. 7:30 a.m. had Bear nudging and asking me – “What time do you have to go to the hospital for the washing?” Me with my eyes still closed, answered, “8:30 a.m.”
“You just helped birth a baby last night. And now you will go wash two bodies. What a contrast your life is!”
I replied him, “You know, I was just thinking the exact same thing.”
Without delay, I got up, showered and arrived at the hospital morgue well ahead of time. The thing that made this day extraordinary was that just a few hours before, I had just helped deliver a new life.
The previous evening I was suddenly called by a family friend to assist the wife who was already having labour pains. It was around 8:30 p.m. when I arrived at the hospital entrance. There was a small crowd of 10 in front of the entrance, but no one was allowed in due to the COVID regulations. When I saw the nurse about to close the entrance door, my hand shot up and I shouted – “Room 6!” She re-opened the door for me and said, “Quickly, they are waiting for you!” When I entered the room, I changed into the necessary attire and joined the 3 midwives. Labour had just started.
But it would not be until half-past-midnight that we welcomed a healthy baby girl! All celebrations aside, and if you have never witnessed a live birth before, the last hour was extremely intense. The suspense, the frustration, the pushing, the helplessness – multiple emotions – all enveloping this wonderful moment when a daughter of Eve was born into the world. From those 4 hours, one moment will forever stay imprinted in my memory – that is the moment that the baby’s head was finally received. At that very second, you will experience the ultimate sacrifice that a mother makes in order to bring her offspring into the world. The pain is unimaginable, indescribable. Her patience – beyond admirable! It can take a few minutes, it can take a few hours. For some, it might even take a few days. And a mother goes through this with only one knowledge – sacrifice. For her child.
Once the mother was stitched up and cleaned, the midwife requested me to cut the umbilical cord that connected mother and child for so many months before this. And when that was done, the mother has no physical ties to her child. I helped the mother move and settle in her room. And when that was done, I left the hospital. It was 3 a.m. when I arrived home.
After a few hours, I was at another hospital. The morgue to be exact. And in the morning I washed not one, but two deceased. The total time both washings took was 4 hours. With the memory of a newborn still fresh in my mind, I was then sucked into another reality. Preparing the deceased for burial is a very humbling experience. It is not only about performing a ritual, it is about preserving the dignity of the deceased. The amount of love and care that is required is equal to what you would have in receiving a newborn, only that the deceased will be sent to another home, another world, where she shall meet her Creator. And another connection is severed.
Indeed it was such a contrast to be in both worlds. It felt like standing in the House of Mirrors – where from whichever angle you look you will see a past, and a future. And both sights feed each other to form a continuous circle of existence. Such is life. We know when it starts and ends, but truly – does it start and end for any of us? Or do we just move from one reality to another – as described in the Qur’an?
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