THE BLESSED TIARA (STORY )

The corridor of CMC Hospital Vellore was shining, reflecting the image of perfection. At the midway turning left to neurosurgery ward was the in house Church.

“Do we pray often or we pray when we are in pain,” wondered Shachi while kneeling down. “God I don’t want to die now, lots of pending work to finish, give me some more years.” She prayed.

To enter the private wards of neurosurgery , one has to cross the general ward first. Shachi always found the room very scary, all bald after skull surgery, unconscious, relatives sitting with a very sad face. “God bless them all, let them recover soon”, shachi prayed for them.

Next to her room was Uncle Matthew’s room. Shachi and Uncle Matthew both were there for surgery of Brain tumor, though his case was quite complicated. The couple smiled at her. “Aunty, you look so sweet,” exclaimed shachi. “Take rest shachi, tommorow will be a tiring day for you,” said  aunty lovingly.

Next day surgery was scheduled for her, as well as for uncle Matthew. She could see the traces of worries in her husband and her brothers eyes. To make it lighter, she asked her husband,” will you marry immediately after I die?” He got more serious and said,” Don’t be stupid, you are here to recover,  not to die, keep your mind calm, and relax, God is with us.”

Early morning shachi got up to be welcomed by the sisters for the grand event. The Father came to bless her and said his prayers. She saw her brother and husband smiling forcefully and immediately she decided that this is the time to face everything with a positive acceptance and she will…..
Suddenly she felt like a queen getting ready for her royal trip. So the Queen was rolled out of her room in her chariot. As it was Radiosurgery for her brain tumor, the first step was to drill and fix a head frame, then CT scan, so that the doctors can plan the operation, then halt at ICU and finally in OT under the gamma knife. The Queen knew her tour programme in advance.

Shachi was shown the head frame. ” oh! It looks like a crown,” she exclaimed.
“Yes lady, a special crown for the angel,” said the doctor.
Doctors were busy pricking injection here and there in the skull, so that they could drill and fix the crown with 4 specially designed pins.
All went well, but as soon as they started drilling to fix the head frame, Shachi started screaming in accute pain. Doctor said,” you are brave and a queen now, talk, sing , say something, divert yourself from the pain. God is with you.”
Shachi could not recall anything except the prayer in the church, but just after saying a line, she found that her pain was more dominating, but she tried again, and to her surprise, she heard the doctors, nurses joining her by saying the prayer with her…

Our Father in heaven :
May your holy name be honoured;
May your Kingdom come;
May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need.
Forgive us the wrongs that we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done us.
Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.’

Prayers have the power to heal, to make you forget the pain. The vibration of the prayer made Shachi calm and peaceful.

After CT Scan, as soon as she was wheeled to neuro ICU, she felt she had entered a morgue, all the patients looking so still…dead…
She whispered, ” Doctor, are they alive?”
Doctor was amused,” Angel, at such pain, how can you have such sense of humor? Yes all are alive and recovering.”

While moving towards OT, Shachi felt herself like a Rolls – Royce coming out for a show, all peeping and looking at her with curiosity at her crown. Shachi tried to flash a winning smile, but her pain was more prominent,  as her husband told her later.

In OT focused radiation beams were delivered to specific areas of the brain tumor. The whole procedure made Shachi very tired and exhausted. She closed her aching eyes.

The Queen woke up to find herself alive,  breathing and talking. She enquired about uncle Matthew, but all were having some or other thing to say.

Shachi was discharged and so was uncle Matthew, both came out of CMCH nearly at the same time. Shachi on wheel chair, uncle Matthew in a brown coffin from morgue.

Life and death is God’s decision, we all know, but how many of us realise that we die so many deaths, while alive. Shachi prayed silently for uncle Matthew and thanked CMCH Vellore for her new lease of life. “I love you CMC but I don’t want to come back again. Bless me , but don’t call me again. I want to remember you always, but don’t call me again…..”,murmured Shachi.