Okay so now that you know all that needs to be known about me and what I was before the accident, let's go on to the most interesting part.. the action sequence. Now I'm going to narrate the happenings around me, how I was transferred from the accident spot to the hospital and how everything seemed to fall in place. It's hard for me right up to this stage, to think of all that happened that evening, and not be amazed at the awesome ( forgive me for a lack of a better word, but when I say awesome, I really mean it, to the full sense of the word ) way in which God makes His plans.
After the fall, which in itself could have caused a few damages, but didn't do much, I opened my eyes, and what I saw was something I can never forget for the rest of my life. A huge lorry tire was spinning toward me. It was just an instant, I thought that was it, end of my life. People generally say that in these life or death moments, your past just flashes before your eyes. Not for me, it was a very short moment. I don't remember even having the thought to call out to Jesus, if my memory serves me right, all I remember saying was " uh, oh.. ". BANG..
After a lot of noise, pain and my body moving forward, stuck between the rubber and road, I realised I was in fact still alive. There I was, lying on the road, chest and abdomen crushed under the immense weight of the water lorry. I was desperately trying to catch my breath, but it was getting ever so hard with each passing second. It was because my lung was punctured. One of the six ribs that were fractured must've done that job.
I felt thirst like I had never felt before. My insides burning as if they were made of hot rubber. I still remember how I felt that moment, surprised to be alive, yet all I wanted then was water. I kept asking " thanni, thanni, yaarachu thanni thaanga " ( water, water, someone give me water ), with as much voice as I could muster. I am not quite sure why I felt that way, but my guess is, it was because of all the internal bleeding, so much blood loss happening on the inside, invisible to the naked eye.
Bystanders, there were a quite a few people in that area at the time, came to my help. They pulled me up, and as I struggled to stand, carried me to an autorickshaw. They took out my mobile and asked me who to call. My first reply was my friend, who was my college mate and coworker. I knew that he was in office, quite close to the spot of the accident. Next, they found my dad's number, and gave him a call. Then they informed the emergency number, to send for an ambulance. Each of these tasks had such a vital purpose in Gods plan.
So they got me into the autorickshaw, and headed in the direction of the hospital, which was a super speciality center, and it was in extremely close proximity. On the way, the ambulance that was called for caught up with the auto and I was transferred to the ambulance. From this point on, my consciousness became quite muddled. Most of what I describe, I came to know only later on. But having heard it from so many people and so many times, I can give you a pretty accurate picture.
I was in a very critical condition as I was admitted in the hospital. Usually in private hospitals in India, it is highly unlikely that doctors would start work on a patient unless they have a proof that you are capable of bearing the expenses of the treatment. And I guess they would need a signature of consent from a family member. I was in a position where neither could be provided. My dad who had just gotten the news was starting from home, which is an over 20km drive through the city. At that time, due to traffic, it would certainly take another one and a half hour minimum to get there. But I didn't have that much time as I was losing pints of blood with each passing minute.
When things look impossible and lost, that's usually when God intervenes to pull you through. That's exactly what happened. My dad on getting the news immediately gave a call to my uncle, who is a doctor, to accompany him. This uncle should have been in Bangladesh at that moment for a conference. Due to some political unrest, that event was cancelled and he was in Chennai. By some chance, he remembered that a colleagues son, who was also a doctor, worked in the very hospital in which I was admitted. He was a very reputed doctor, and had a good say in the establishment. He convinced the management. And so, without a signature, without any financial guarantee, I was taken in, ready to be operated on.
What happened next was something that, if you had seen in a movie, you'd think, " there's no way that can happen.. ". At the time I arrived at the hospital, there was another elderly gentleman, due to be operated on. His case was complex and required the presence of many specialist in the operation theatre. There were seven doctors all ready to attend to him. And I am brought in, extremely critical and in need of immediate attention. I guess you understand what must've happened next.
The doctors approached the family of the elderly gentleman and explained the situation. His case was luckily not as critical as mine and could be postponed for a little while. Yet, it was the grace of God, and a very miraculous one at that, that they accepted to postpone their surgery and allowed me to be attended to. I am still extremely grateful to the people who took that decision, even though I haven't seen them yet. If they hadn't allowed me to be operated on, there is nothing we could've done about it. And I would not have been here writing all this. But I am more thankful to Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Chirst who planned everything out, to keep all the surgeons ready exactly at the time when I needed them. These were all top doctors in their field. Each of them highly required at that stage as I had damages to multiple organs.
And so the operation went on for nearly nine hours like I had said before, and I had to spend another 22 gruelling days in the ICU before I was able to be with my kith and kin. There were many incidents where I see the hand of God during those days, but the beautiful plan that He made for me couldn't be more profoundly visible than in those moments that immediately followed my fall.
After the fall, which in itself could have caused a few damages, but didn't do much, I opened my eyes, and what I saw was something I can never forget for the rest of my life. A huge lorry tire was spinning toward me. It was just an instant, I thought that was it, end of my life. People generally say that in these life or death moments, your past just flashes before your eyes. Not for me, it was a very short moment. I don't remember even having the thought to call out to Jesus, if my memory serves me right, all I remember saying was " uh, oh.. ". BANG..
After a lot of noise, pain and my body moving forward, stuck between the rubber and road, I realised I was in fact still alive. There I was, lying on the road, chest and abdomen crushed under the immense weight of the water lorry. I was desperately trying to catch my breath, but it was getting ever so hard with each passing second. It was because my lung was punctured. One of the six ribs that were fractured must've done that job.
I felt thirst like I had never felt before. My insides burning as if they were made of hot rubber. I still remember how I felt that moment, surprised to be alive, yet all I wanted then was water. I kept asking " thanni, thanni, yaarachu thanni thaanga " ( water, water, someone give me water ), with as much voice as I could muster. I am not quite sure why I felt that way, but my guess is, it was because of all the internal bleeding, so much blood loss happening on the inside, invisible to the naked eye.
Bystanders, there were a quite a few people in that area at the time, came to my help. They pulled me up, and as I struggled to stand, carried me to an autorickshaw. They took out my mobile and asked me who to call. My first reply was my friend, who was my college mate and coworker. I knew that he was in office, quite close to the spot of the accident. Next, they found my dad's number, and gave him a call. Then they informed the emergency number, to send for an ambulance. Each of these tasks had such a vital purpose in Gods plan.
So they got me into the autorickshaw, and headed in the direction of the hospital, which was a super speciality center, and it was in extremely close proximity. On the way, the ambulance that was called for caught up with the auto and I was transferred to the ambulance. From this point on, my consciousness became quite muddled. Most of what I describe, I came to know only later on. But having heard it from so many people and so many times, I can give you a pretty accurate picture.
I was in a very critical condition as I was admitted in the hospital. Usually in private hospitals in India, it is highly unlikely that doctors would start work on a patient unless they have a proof that you are capable of bearing the expenses of the treatment. And I guess they would need a signature of consent from a family member. I was in a position where neither could be provided. My dad who had just gotten the news was starting from home, which is an over 20km drive through the city. At that time, due to traffic, it would certainly take another one and a half hour minimum to get there. But I didn't have that much time as I was losing pints of blood with each passing minute.
When things look impossible and lost, that's usually when God intervenes to pull you through. That's exactly what happened. My dad on getting the news immediately gave a call to my uncle, who is a doctor, to accompany him. This uncle should have been in Bangladesh at that moment for a conference. Due to some political unrest, that event was cancelled and he was in Chennai. By some chance, he remembered that a colleagues son, who was also a doctor, worked in the very hospital in which I was admitted. He was a very reputed doctor, and had a good say in the establishment. He convinced the management. And so, without a signature, without any financial guarantee, I was taken in, ready to be operated on.
What happened next was something that, if you had seen in a movie, you'd think, " there's no way that can happen.. ". At the time I arrived at the hospital, there was another elderly gentleman, due to be operated on. His case was complex and required the presence of many specialist in the operation theatre. There were seven doctors all ready to attend to him. And I am brought in, extremely critical and in need of immediate attention. I guess you understand what must've happened next.
The doctors approached the family of the elderly gentleman and explained the situation. His case was luckily not as critical as mine and could be postponed for a little while. Yet, it was the grace of God, and a very miraculous one at that, that they accepted to postpone their surgery and allowed me to be attended to. I am still extremely grateful to the people who took that decision, even though I haven't seen them yet. If they hadn't allowed me to be operated on, there is nothing we could've done about it. And I would not have been here writing all this. But I am more thankful to Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Chirst who planned everything out, to keep all the surgeons ready exactly at the time when I needed them. These were all top doctors in their field. Each of them highly required at that stage as I had damages to multiple organs.
And so the operation went on for nearly nine hours like I had said before, and I had to spend another 22 gruelling days in the ICU before I was able to be with my kith and kin. There were many incidents where I see the hand of God during those days, but the beautiful plan that He made for me couldn't be more profoundly visible than in those moments that immediately followed my fall.
Amos, please continue your blog story. The world needs more people who can relate their personal faith experiences,
ReplyDelete