Come, Fly With Me

THIRTY

A thin blue sheet merely a foot away from my face obstructed the view of my torso. I was terrified beyond belief. Ehsaan sat by my head, clutching my hand in his and I could hear him muttering surahs and du'aas under his breath as he stroked my forehead with his other hand. I gulped, feeling the pressure as they tugged at my insides. I was being monitored intensely, and the severity of the situation was just too overwhelming for me to bear.

"Ehsaan" I whispered.

"Yes darling?" he moved his head closer to mine.

"Are you okay?" I was worried about him.

"Alhamdulillah my love," he sighed, "You feeling okay?". I felt sad as it was clear to me that this whole situation was killing him.

"I feel great, we get to meet our baby soon! You still think it's a girl?"

"Definitely," he grinned, "What about you? Ready to confess your assumption?" I laughed in response, shaking my head and closing my eyes in bliss as he rested his forehead on mine.

"We're almost there darling, almost there."

I smiled as happy tears filled my eyes and his luminous eyes shone with emotion. I felt a firm tug in my stomach area, and the doctor gasped, "Oh sweet lord!"

"What is it? What's wrong?" Ehsaancalled.

"She's gorgeous" the doctor responded in her thick German accent.

A nurse pulled down the sheet slightly so that the doctors hands were in full view. In them, lay a tiny, purple-tinged body, and the cord which connected us, still intact. She let out a small, heart-wrenching cry. Our daughter. Our baby girl. Finally in this world.

"She's a girl Ehsaan! You were right! Our baby is a little girl!" I laughed with tears streaming down my face, as he cried with joy beside me.

Time stood still as they placed her on my chest for a brief moment whilst cleaning her up before pulling her off me and whisking her away for surgery in an incubator.

"Ehsaan, go! She needs you!"

"They won't let me into the theatre, my love. They already said so"

"I don't care, our baby girl needs her daddy! I'll still be here later, she might not be! Go!"

He kissed me one last time and ran, only slowing down as he approached the doors and was closely following the nurses who wheeled our little princess away.

Only minutes into this world and our baby was already battling for life.

Oh Allah, protect my child now as you protected her while she was within me. I prayed.

They stitched me up and wheeled me into a recovery room while I waited impatiently for my husband and daughter to return. My heart was pounding and I yearned for the warmth and closeness of the two greatest treasures in my life. I couldn't move, the anaesthesia still very much in effect. Before long, a nurse led Ehsaaninto the room and he came and enveloped me in a big hug.

"You did it Aleena! We're parents! And our perfect baby girl is in there now, and they're fixing her up so we can go home, and be a family as soon as she is well enough to leave the NICU. You did so well, darling. I love you so, so much."

Neither of us even noticed the tears streaming down the others' cheeks as we were so lost in our emotions –the joy of having a newborn, the terror of the unknown, the pain of childbirth and the pride for our gift from Allah.

A few hours later, after I managed to get some rest and sleep after the long day and night we'd had, a doctor walked in.

"Good evening, Mr and Mrs Ahmad. I just came to let you know that your little girl is out of the operating theatre. It went as well as it could have and so far, her recovery is going smoothly. Its vital that we keep monitoring her and of course, that she gets the extra care she needs seeing as she is premature, so she will need to remain in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the forseeablefuture. Do either of you have any questions for me?"