Evergreen episode 5

Evergreen episode 5
I wasn’t sure of my sight.
I quickly wipe my tears and went over to
him.
I looked at him and ofcourse he was moving
as he tried to raise his arm and opened his
eyes.
He is back!!!
I ran to the door as I called for the nurse,
she too came running. I told her to proceed
to the ward as I ran off to get Dr. Imran.
The few people I met along the corridor and
down the stairs kept staring at me but I
didn’t care.
The way I b@nged into Dr. Imran’s office
told him what was amidst as he quickly
dropped the file he was going through and
followed me. We both ran back to
Basheer’s ward.
What I saw as we entered the ward was
something I would never forget.
Basheer was still lying on the bed finding it
very difficult to breath, the nurse tried to
hold him back as his chest raised up to an
altitude higher than the rest of his body. Dr.
Imran ran to him and with the help of two
other nurses that came into the room as
they heard noises, they were able to control
his breath back to normal after giving him
so many medical aids.
I stood still as my excitement turned to
shock as I watched my dearest friend
struggling for his life, I was already crying
like there would be no tommorrow. One of
the nurses took me to the sofa and sat me
down trying to console me but I went on
crying.
A few minutes later, my parents came in
while Dr. Imran was still in the ward. He
told them what happened and said he
needed to see my Dad in his office right
away. My Mum sat by my side hugging me
as they both left.
About 30 minutes later, my Dad came back.
He looked very worried as he sat down
beside my Mum.
“He has slipped into a coma”, he told us.
“Is he dying?”I asked not sure what slipping
into a coma meant.
“No, he is not dying. Slipping into a coma
is just a state of deep unconsciousness for
a prolonged period. It’s just seem like the
person is in a deep sleep, he tried to explain
“He’ll be fine”, my mum assured me.
“Why does one slip into a coma?”, I directed
the question to my dad
He stared at me not knowing how to answer
the question.
“I am not sure of that, it could be due to
shock, serious injuries or illness, and as you
can see Basheer had sustained serious
injuries from the accident, the doctor said
we are lucky he doesn’t bleed too much”, he
answered
“I think we should inform his parents about
the situation at hand”, he said trying to
change the topic.
“Yes, I think they should even come over”,
my mum advised.
I told them I had already told his Mum
about the accident but it will be better if
one of them talks to them and explained
everything in details. My Dad said he
would.
He called Basheer’s dad as they were very
familiar with each other, I heard him telling
him about everything. His dad said they
would catch the first available flight back
home.
“They will be coming soon”, he said as soon
as he ended the call.
“That will be better”, my mum said.
A few minutes later, Dr. Imran came in, he
said we should all go home as there was no
use waiting up for Basheer.
“We have to move him to the Intensive Care
Unit (ICU) immediately because his
breathing and brain activities have to be
monitored through CT scans, he had said
then continued, His respiration and
circulation has to be maintained by
intubation and ventilation and once we are
sure he is no more in danger, we have to
concentrate on maintaining his physical
state, preventing other infections and
providing balanced nutrition”, he concluded.
I understood some of what he said as I
listened with keen interest.
“You have nothing to worry about, he’ll be
fine by Allah’s grace”, he assured
We left the ward as some nurses moved
Basheer to the ICU.
We kept silent along the way as I drove with
my Mum by my side while my Dad drove
back home alone.
Once at home, I went to my room and
locked myself as I wanted to be alone. I
took my bath and I was sitting by the
mirror combing my hair when I heard a
knock on my door. I stood up, went to the
door and unlocked it. It was my mum.
She stared at me and was suprised at how
much I have changed within one day.
“Basheer’s illness really have an effect on
you, but don’t let it frustrate you so much”,
she advised
I kept silent as I went to my wadrobe
looking for what is best for me to wear.
“You have to remember everything that
happens comes from Allah, we just have to
pray over it”, she added sitting on the sofa.
“Yes, Mum. I will try my best with the
prayers”, I told her.
“Let me go and freshen up, I hope you will
come out for dinner”, she said standing.
“Yes, see you at dinner”, I answered as she
left the room.
My Mum was right, as a muslim I have to
accept the good and the bad, and I have
learnt never to question my Allah, I thought
as I slipped into my clothes.
I retired to my room as soon as dinner was
over after saying goodnight to my parents.
I had a long day and I needed to rest.
The time was 12:45am, I have been lying
for more than 3 hours but I still couldn’t
sleep.
Had it been Basheer was well, we would
have been chatting by now, I thought.
I felt better when I woke up the next
morning.
I couldn’t go back to sleep after saying my
fajr (dawn) prayers. It was 7:45am when I
got up from my bed, took my bath and got
ready to go out, I had decided to go for my
lectures then go and see Basheer later in
the day.
I met my Dad on my way out in the sitting
room.
He dropped the newspaper he was reading
as soon as he saw me.
“Good morning, Baba”, I greeted kneeling
down.
“Good morning, Na’imah”, he answered
smiling.
“Am off to school”, I told him as I stood up.
“Basheer’s parents are on their way, they
boarded a flight just a few hours ago.
They’ll be here early tomorrow morning”, he
explained.
“Okay, Allah ya kawo su lafiya (I wish them
Allah’s safety throughout their trip)”, I
replied.
“Take care of yourself”, he advised going
back to his reading.
I looked in my mum’s room and found her
still asleep so I headed out.
I went straight to my class as soon as I
parked my car in the parking space meant
for students.
“It is suprising how life can change for
someone within a short period of time”, I
said to myself.
The lecture started as soon as I settled
down giving my friends no chance of asking
me what was wrong with me as I looked a
little bad and the ever-lively Na’imah was
silent that morning.
The lecture was boring as I kept glancing at
my wristwatch every minute. My mind was
not with the lecturer as I was faraway
thinking of how Basheer was coping. The
voice of the lecturer brought me back to life
as he called it a day. Finally it has ended. I
was ready to leave when Azizah caught up
with me.
“Hey, what’s up with you?” she asked
“I am fine, why?” I replied
“You didn’t attend any of your lectures
yesterday and you didn’t give me any
explanation for that. And here you are
telling me you are fine”, She complained
“I am fine”, I repeated
She knew how much I hated questioning but
I could see it in her eyes that she didn’t
believe me. But she let it go
“Well, our Industrial training request forms
are ready, the co-ordinator started giving
them out yesterday and there’ll be a lecture
to guide us on how to go about everything”,
she explained as I stared at her.
“Okay, I will make sure I get mine. What
time is the lecture?”, I asked
“I think by 4-6pm in the Yar’adua Hall 1,
She answered giving me the details.
“Okay, I will come but am not promising
you I’ll be here”, I said standing
“No Problem, are you going somewhere
now?” she asked following me out of the
lecture hall.
“Yes, I am going to check on our co-
ordinator to get my IT request form”, I
replied.
“We don’t have any other lecture, do we?” I
asked
“No, we don’t, just the IT guidance lecture
by 4″, She reminded me.
“Yeah, I will see you then”, I said going past
our department block to where I parked my
car.
Azizah was my friend and coursemate.
She was a friendly-looking girl but could be
annoying sometimes. She was very
hærdworking and never missed any lecture
or information, that was why I relied on her
always. I checked on our co-ordinator to
collect a copy of my form but his office was
locked, I glanced at my wristwatch, it was
after 12, Maybe he went for a lecture or
meeting, I thought. So I left and headed for
the hospital.
I walked up to Dr. Imran’s office as soon as
I arrived at the hospital. I had to wait for a
few minutes as he was seeing some other
patients.
I went in as he finished with them.
“Good afternoon Doctor”, I greeted him as I
sat down smiling
“Good afternoon Na’imah”, he smiled back
looking at me.
“How are you today?” he asked
“Am fine, thank you”, I answered.
“How is Basheer?”, I asked
“He is doing fine”, he answered then added,
“I checked on him this morning, he’s in no
danger, lets just hope he wakes up as soon
as possible”.
“For how long does a coma normally last?”,
I asked him
“It may last for days, weeks or even years”,
he said
My heart was beating fast now!!!
To be continued