“Come here, please!”
“Here!”
I yelled at the top of my voice and coupled with my beckoning hand gestures to the people in the corridor of this hospital’s door entrance.
You see, I had driven the car in an unprecedented manner like a crazy Formula 1 driver without any safety gear or racing infrastructure while expertly but dangerously maneuvering my way in the earlier heavy traffic.
Of course, I had broken major road safety traffic rules as I had faced oncoming cars,
and drifted right and left through several dangerous bends in order to get to this hospital’s compound as early as possible.
And thanks to the car’s sharp ABS (Anti-lock braking system) which had been of immense help as I’ve had to slam the car’s brake in several instances while meandering my way through the heavy traffic and speeding to the hospital’s entrance.
If you were there, you would have seen the brazen bewilderment look on the faces of the people standing in front of this hospital.
I presume these people have brought their loved ones to the hospital for medical treatment,
Or they came for their respective medical issues or maybe they have just been discharged or possibly visiting their people at this teaching hospital.
Who knows?
Anyway, back to our story.
You see, I had jetted out of the car immediately after arriving at the hospital compound and I had made my way to the back seat in a hurry.
Unmistakably, this unplanned drama had driven much attention towards my direction.
But irrespective of my agitation, two middle-aged men and a relatively elderly woman had rushed towards the back seat of my car to offer their assistance.
You see, so much was the adrenaline running through my body, and the big confusion on my face was quite visible for anyone from 20 meters away to see.
These two middle-aged men were considerate as they helped carry my wife through the glass door of this hospital.
As you would have expected, the hospital was unusually crowded with patients, staffs, and people loitering in the passage
But I couldn’t care less at this time, as she held my hand tightly and occasionally squeezing my fingers with intense pressure that I had felt the numbness of my fingers.
She was breathing heavily and covered in sweat like someone had poured water over her body.
Although her tummy was remarkably protruded, the doctor had assured us that she wasn’t expected for delivery until another two weeks.
“Tosin!”
She cried out in distress as she continuously squeezed my hand painfully simultaneously.
You see, I was confused and had to endure the pain from the pinch on my hand.
Yes, I had a right to be.
After all, it was our first child, and all the seminars we attended and the videos we had watched did not detail what I am currently experiencing now.
“Please put her on the stretcher,”
The oncoming nurse said to the two men, who were kind enough to gently help place on the grey colored stretcher.
You see, while I was still trying to process what had just happened and the details of the state of things in my head…
one of the nurses, the tall slender one pointed at me…
“Please stay here”
“Here?”
I questioned her instruction coupled with my facial expression of “why should I stay here?”
She appeared confident and experienced on the job,
as she grinned and pointed to a chair and nodded her head to signal a yes, as my wife was wheeled into one of the ICUs (Intensive Care Units) of this teaching hospital.
Ok, let’s go back a little bit –
…to give you some context of this situation.
You see, nine hours ago, we had planned an evening outing together once I’m back from a business engagement.
We had earlier scheduled three major things to do in the evening
One, to watch the new blockbuster film at the cinema,
Two, to have an assorted dinner in one of our favorite restaurants,
and three, we planned to attend the weekend Smooth Jazz Party in order to cap an eventful Friday evening outing.
Following my arrival at the house from my business engagement, you can clearly sense the solemn excitement in the air as I opened the entrance door into the living room.
You could smell the fresh flowery scent of her worn perfume as she walked towards me with arms wide-opened for a hug.
Needless to tell you that the warm embrace and the welcome kiss was different in comparison to the previous days.
She was already prepared for the occasion, our planned Friday night out and scheduled activities.
If I remembered correctly, she had a black and red laced colored dinner dress and layered with a silky textured fabric that had gray-colored linings across her gown in a zigzag pattern.
Her outfit was done with a somewhat dark-forest colored medium-heel shoes.
You see, if you weren’t informed earlier, you wouldn’t have noticed that she is pregnant, as she had a way of concealing her protruded tummy with the dress in a creative fashion.
Oh sure, she looked gorgeous and stunning with the heart-anchored shaped pendant worn around her neck and completed with her pretty smile.
And of course, she knew I was a sucker for charming smiles.
She certainly knows how to combine those colors and attire to her current body state.
If you were there, you would have seen the anticipation for the planned outing on her face, and the unusual excitement in her voice as it’s been a while we’ve been out together.
Since I arrived back home late than I’ve earlier planned due to the nature of my business engagements with the company’s clients,
So I know I’ve got to hurry up and make the night a memorable one.
With an ample dash of water on my face, a dab of cologne on my body pulse spots, a well-manicured Afro curly hair, a white dinner long-sleeve shirt, and a charcoal-colored tuxedo.
And as a connoisseur of fine things, I coupled my outfit with an Oxford laced black shoes, a classic navy-blue bow tie around my neck and an evening Quartz magnetic wristwatch.
In less than ten minutes or so, I was ready in a jiffy.
Turning around towards the room passage, there she stood – my wife, while unbeknownst to me, she smacked my left cheek with her soft rounded protruded lips with an unspoken message yet understood depiction of thank you cutie.
Who knows?
Anyway, we have been on the road for like thirty-five minutes in the heavy traffic now,
and with about ten more kilometers of distance to our first place for the night – the Cinema place.
It was at that moment that I noticed her continuous forward jolting and wriggling expression of discomfort on her face as she slouched in the car’s front seat.
You see, if you had been there, you’re bound to spot what’s painful and what’s an occasional disturbance.
“…babies’ kicking?”
I asked her.
But she did not respond.
“…road sickness?” “…are you nauseated?”
“Are you ok?”
You see, I kept asking these incoherent questions as I multitask in driving through the slowly moving traffic on the road while monitoring her distressing situation.
“Aaah! Wrrhh…”
She clasped both her hands on her tummy and screamed deeply with her eyes closed.
“…I think it’s happening”,
She voiced out.
“…now?” “You mean now…? Oh…”
I queried to be sure of what’s happening to her.
Decisively, I started looking at both sides of the road through the side windows of the car in search of a nearby hospital, as our booked hospital is located in the north direction of our present place.
And considering the nature of her pressing distress and the traffic on the road, and the location of our familiar hospital, that isn’t even an option at the moment.
Having called the emergency medical services, their estimated time of arrival wouldn’t be in the next twenty-six minutes or so.
Proactively, I started searching for nearby hospitals via the Google Search app on the car’s dashboard and located a nearby hospital twelve kilometers away.
You see, all this while, the road traffic had gotten much worse with only three meters of possible movement at an interval of four to six minutes.
Possibly because it’s Friday and the nature of this metropolitan city.
If you were in the car, you could hear her breathing heavily and wriggling in pain at the back seat.
With concern and deep empathy for her and the unborn babies, I swerved from the normal right-hand side of driving on the road to the adjacent road on the left-hand side.
A dangerous but inventive attempt.
You see, I had faced the oncoming cars with the full headlight beam on, honked the car horn to alert oncoming cars in order for them to give way for my speeding car.
Surprisingly, most drivers were considerate and move sideways, despite their astonished look.
I maneuvered my way through the opposite road in contrast to the traffic rules.
Now back at the hospital waiting room –
…where the nurse had said I should stay.
If you happen to be seating on one of those chairs in this hospital, you would have seen me pacing up and down along the passage in the waiting room.
Moreover, you would have observed that my shirt is ruffled and the first three top buttons of my shirt were unbuttoned, while the bow tie is loosely untied and dangling around my neck this time.
And you would have asserted to yourself by now, that I cared less of my appearance at this time,
as I kept looking at the door of the Intensive Care Unit where my wife had been wheeled into for the last few minutes.
I was watching the ICU door entrance for each oncoming doctors and nurses like a lion gazing and lurkingly waiting before pouncing onto its prey.
You see, I watched every second of the ticking wall clock on the adjacent wall of the room to where I was standing grew into minutes,
and the minutes strolled sluggishly into longer minutes.
Hmm, why does time appear to slow-down in hospitals?
Or why does time seem so precious whenever we’re in distressed situations?
As I was pondering on this phenomenon, a fascinating explanation tied in my mind on what I have read before in my teenage years.
I had read an article that summarized that we often don’t know the value of time units until we have found ourselves in situations like this.
Circumstances and conditions that are time-bound.
…time-bound implications?
Ask a track runner or an athlete, or a military sniper, or ask life-saving medical personnel or other related people,
they would tell you how microsecond, milliseconds, seconds and minutes units of time have been tied to their successes and failures.
Either in winning a race competition, saving a patient’s life, hitting a winning shot, or securing a hostile scene, you would be informed that every jot units of the time matter and carries significant value.
The same time-bound law applies to ICU labor procedures.
Now back to our story…
If you had happened to be in the waiting room with me this time, you would have observed other patients suffering from one sickness and other forms of emergency concerns along with the people who had accompanied them.
You would have perceived the familiar and characteristic hospital smell which isn’t too pleasing in the lines of sensory fragrances.
“Please come quickly”,
One of the midwives requested of me, as she came out of the ICU room.
“Your wife wants you beside her during the labor”
The midwife added.
You see, I had pictured this day many times and we had joked about it a couple of times.
I had always told her that I would find a reason not to be in the labor room with her.
But there I was.
…what can I say?
“Tosin! You did this!”
She shouted and gave me a stern look as I entered the labor room.
“What did I do?”
I thought to myself.
“That was definitely not part of our prenatal rehearsal and preparation plans…”
Anyway, I was dumb quiet like an accused person who had just been pronounced guilty by the judge.
Anyway, she continued in a sustained labor state, which was quite disturbing to me.
It was at this period that the midwife touched my shoulder in a clam way and asked,
“Is this your first experience?”
To which I nodded in acknowledgment.
“Don’t worry, everything will be alright. Do your best to comfort your wife” the midwife said.
So standing by my laboring wife’s side, I repeatedly echoed the words of the midwives…
“Push! Push! You can do it”.
However, she became weaker and progress seemed slow with each labored push.
“Tosin! I am tired, I can’t push anymore”,
She tiredly replied.
You see, with each ticking of the clock, I became more anxious.
“What about a Caesarean Section?”
I asked the doctor in charge.
“It’s complicated for her condition”, the doctor replied.
If you had happened to be in the ICU room, you’d have known that I really wanted a Caesarean Section for her as it would have shortened the delivery process and reduced the pain drastically.
So looking at her sweaty swollen face, and her weakened outlook, I shouted at the doctor, “I require a cesarean section for my wife now!”
The doctor and the midwives were stunned at my reaction and could not believe a posh person like me could react in such a crazy way.
But to me, it was for my wife and my unborn babies’ interests.
You see, I had reached into my pocket, brought out my phone and started dialing my lawyer’s phone to notify the legal advocate of a denial of Caesarean Section request for my wife.
At this stage, I was frustrated and my demeanor already turning red in disgust of the medical personnel in the ICU room.
While still on the phone in conversation with my lawyer, the doctor walked closer to my side and signaled to have a conversation with me in a surprisingly calm voice…
“should a C-section be done, your wife could be affected and the babies could be impaired, as her anatomy and the babies’ positions are quite exclusive”.
After actively listening to the doctor’s explanation and the consequences and related things, I became quieted and my earlier few minutes’ purported actions made me look stupid.
There, looking at my wife’s face, and how much I loved her and the unborn babies, I knew I could not afford to make an unwise or naive decision.
Thinking to myself how my impatience and uninformed action could have harmed what I was meaning to protect in the first place.
As you might have envisaged, I inquired more about their medical advice, what I could do in support, and other needful things.
To which they immensely did.
Looking at her again, from the full strands of hairs on her head, and remembering how we fell in love for the first time, our troubled moments, our ups and downs, and how we’ve weathered the storm together, I lit up with a renewed energy and radiance.
You see, now, with my informed knowledge and encouragement, teary eyes and words uttered from the heart, I held her hand and whispered into her ear,
“I might not understand your pains or what’s happening to your body now, but love you and I know you will give birth to our babies”
“Please draw in on your breathe, strength and keep pushing..”
I pleaded with expressive sound and gestures.
You already know where this story is going?
No.
So, twenty seconds afterward, she squeezed my left hand and almost stopped the flow of blood through my veins, took a deep breath and gave a long push coupled with loud screaming I’ve not heard before.
“It is coming”,
called out one of the midwives
“it’s a girl!”
Reported another midwife.
“This one is a boy”. ”Twins!”
Reported by the other midwife.
You see, my wife who was in pain a couple of minutes earlier was now smiling as she held the two babies in her hands with smiles and tears of joy.
I could not contain my delight as I had tears in my eyes as I witnessed and watched the creation of new lives.
Standing there and watching my wife and the babies we had brought to life, it was at that point I recalled an article I had read earlier.
It explained that the human body was designed to take about 45 dels of pain
But that during childbirth, a laboring woman experiences about 76 dels of pain which is equivalent to about 20 bones breaking at the same time.
So, what’s this analogy all about?
Birthing of Goals & Aspirations: The Concepts
This fictional story bears resemblance to the birthing of goals & aspirations delivery.
How?
You’d realize that all the characters and interactions in this story are significant to the birthing of our varying goals & aspirations, dreams, ideas execution, and fulfillment of our worthwhile desires.
The Unborn Babies
The unborn babies represent the dreams, ideas, goals & aspirations that are yet to be accomplished or fulfilled.
The Babies
The babies represent the eventful outcome & birthing of our goals & aspirations and dreams accomplishment.
The Wife
The fictional wife in the story is our “internal self”, where the impregnation of goals & aspirations, dreams, ideas and desires takes place.
It’s the seat of conception and nurturing of your goals & aspirations and dreams
Moreover, it is also the place where intellectual, emotional and mental exertion of labour happen.
The Midwives, Doctor, and Nurses
These are the valued people and resources meant to guide, encourage and help in the different phases of your journey in the delivery of your goals & aspirations, and fulfillment of your desires.
The Husband
The husband is “You”
The impregnator, the driver of the wife (conceived dreams) and the initiative taker.
You as the husband in this story is the ultimate determining factor in the process leading to the delivery of birthing your goals & aspirations, the fulfillment of your dreams and conceived ideas and desires.
What to Do in the Birthing Processes of your Goals & Aspirations?
Our goals & aspirations are unique and different.
So are the birthing of our goals & aspirations processes (analogous to real-life childbirth, – just ask a mother if you’re ever in doubt).
As you’d have recognized by now, that there is always a laboring process in the birthing of our goals & aspirations and dreams, especially the ones that are valuable and precious to your life accomplishments.
* Commit Strategic Efforts & Individuality
Connect with your “Wife”, and engage your “Midwives, Nurses & Doctors” in delivering your “Babies” – your related goals & aspirations or desired outcomes.
As portrayed in my fictional story, you’d realize that we are often tempted and besieged with avenues to short-circuit the labor process
– the pain time, the “pushing” period, and the “intense effort” period in the birthing of dreams.
Just remember, that the pain period is temporary in the long-run scheme of things.
The “excruciating pain” and pushing period would soon faze out, and the pleasure of your desired accomplishments would far outweigh the present pain of your birthing process.
So what are you going to do in the birthing of your worthwhile goals & aspirations?
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* This story is an original creation of the author’s imagination in explaining the stated concepts.
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Birthing of Goals & Aspirations
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See more Stories & Poems
Author’s Contact: tosin (at) myplacestory (dot) com
Inquiries: info@myplacestory.com
I hope this poetry or story or score or work helps stir your imagination, broaden your perspective & unlock the doors for your yet-unknowns.
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