In His Time

"Babe!"

She turned, thinking she heard him calling her. But he looked like he was still sleeping, so she continued brushing her hair. She wanted to rush to the gym and back to get his breakfast ready for 7:30-8:00 am.

She had to be home by 7 am. "I don't want him getting upset and refusing to eat," she thought as she tied the last shoelace.

Standing up to leave the room, she heard it again,

"Babe!"

She walked towards the bed and asked him,

"Did you call me"?

"Yes. Help me, please!"

She was confused.

" Help you? How?"

"Get me to a hospital, please. I am very sick!"

"How?" She wondered. They slept on the same bed, so how can he be sick to the point of needing a doctor?

She had to ask again but his voice sounded like it was getting weaker. She reached out and felt his forehead.

"Wow!" It felt like she had placed her hand on a hot iron.

"What happened to you?" She still tried to ask, but he could barely talk. He looked and sounded so sick, she knew she had to rush him to a hospital ASAP. She tried, but couldn't lift him, so she ran out to look for someone to help her. 

Thank God Idi, his younger brother was around. He helped get him up, while she quickly cleaned and dressed him as best as she could. They took him out, into the car and drove to the hospital nearest to them, a specialist hospital. Thank God they were efficient. 

The moment they drove in, a hospital attendant appeared to attend to them. After realising the case was critical, he quickly got another attendant who came with a stretcher. They both carried and placed Melvin on the stretcher and wheeled him to the emergency unit of the hospital.

A doctor was on hand to attend to him. He was so weak and couldn't talk.

First things first, IVU to strengthen as well as stabilise him.

When the drip was fixed, they went ahead to carry out some tests.

While on it, Melvin passed out.

Ha! Just like that? They tried resuscitating him. As soon as he responded, they put an oxygen mask on him to help his breathing.

All tests were suspended until he got stable.

Samantha remained with him, perplexed at the sudden illness.

"He was fine last night, though grouchy, as usual. But he was, or rather, seemed alright." She held her head and silently prayed.

"Oh Lord, intervene! This is too much. Heal Melvin and restore his joy!"

He hadn't always been grouchy. This was a new development. It started about six months ago. It affected their relationship and the mood in the house.

The next day, he seemed stable, so they started carrying out the tests. Specimens were collected and taken to the lab. While they were being screened, the doctors kept observing him. His condition was strange, based on what the wife said.

As the observation was going on, he went into a shock and then slipped into a coma.

"You need to go home and rest, get someone to come to stay with him. This is too much stress for a pregnant woman. You can check on him every day till he comes out of it."

The doctor said after explaining the situation to Sammy.

"Pregnant woman? Doctor, I'm not pregnant," she quickly added.

"But you are," he insisted.

"Advanced."

There was a call for him, another emergency, "I'll see you tomorrow, but go home!" He said as he rushed away.

Samantha stood there confused for a while, then concluded that Dr Max was tired and probably wasn't seeing well. She shoved it aside and walked into the ICU to check on her husband.

Melvin was in a coma for two weeks. Sammy would always talk to him like he was listening while holding his hands.

She was doing that on this fateful evening when he opened his eyes. She was so engrossed in the story she was telling him...

"He has said this on three different occasions but how can I be pregnant without a sign? He insists it's even advanced."

She felt she was being watched intensely. She looked up and saw Melvin watching her intently, with tears streaming down his eyes.

Her mouth was agape for a while before she was finally able to speak.

"What's wrong darling? Why are you crying? You are awake, you are alive," she said, getting up and hugging him. She kept thanking God.

"I'm sorry." He kept repeating. Even when the doctors came to check on him, he refused to let go of her hand.

"Forgive me, babe." Sammy was worried. "Did he come to apologise and go?"

She wondered, afraid.

The doctor certified him okay. Surprisingly okay.

All his tests came out negative. The scan picked nothing. Now he's out of the coma. "This sickness was a mystery" Dr Max said.

Melvin knew it was God teaching him the biggest lesson of his life.

 He'll be kept for a day, just for observations, then he could go home.

"What are you apologising for darl?"

"The way I treated you. The things I said. forgive me."

Everything came back.

She had been very sick about seven months ago. She would throw up without warning, she became so thin, he began to taunt her. Calling her all sorts of names. He even went for tests to be sure he wasn't infected by whatever was ailing her. 

After a few months, she felt better, but then she put on so much weight, her old clothes couldn't fit anymore. Another round of name-calling and body shaming started. He'd called her barren and fat. Told her to lose some weight so she could give him children. He gave her till the end of the year or he would get another woman to have kids for him.

They had been married for six years and God knows she had tried to take in but... She was a well-behaved girl, so she couldn't understand why she hadn't been able to take in. Her mother told her, "There is time for everything. Hold on to God. In His own time, He'll make it all beautiful."

Those words kept her going even when her husband became mean. They used to be so close, could talk about everything, till he shut her out. It had been hell, but she was determined to scale through it, believing that things would improve. He had even said to her "If you fall sick in the future, I won't be responsible. I won't bear the burden. Get healthy! Lose weight!"

Of all the things he had said to her, this hurt her the most. But somehow, she found a way to bury the pain. She resolved in her heart never to be sick. She will live healthily!

Now he's apologising.

"It's alright, I already forgave you," she said, wiping off tears and sniffing.

"Come here," he pulled her into a hug and they both sobbed for a while.

After they had both calmed, he asked her, "What were you saying about an advanced pregnancy? Who is pregnant?"

"Dr Max insists I'm pregnant and that it's advanced. But I'm not!"

"How do you know you are not? Monthly flow?"

"Yes," she answered him.

His mind flashed back to the sickness, nausea, dizzy spells, the initial weight loss and then the weight gain. He's aware that some people still have flows during pregnancy.

"Why don't we have you scanned?"

"Okay," Samantha said, shrugging.

The scan revealed she was twenty-seven weeks pregnant. With triplets!

Sammy temporarily passed out. Too many emotions. Joy! Shock! All the years of pain...

She called her Mum when they got home. Mum kept singing and thanking God.

This God is too much! THREE!

Now the boys' dedication is today and Melvin has been spending money as if it's a wedding. He has resolved that nothing is too good for his boys and His queen. Samantha has a brand new SUV as proof.

She was looking out through the window at the activities going on outside, her heart full of gratitude to God for everything when the makeup artist beckoned on her.

"Let's tie your gele (scarf/turban), Madam.

Excerpts from the book, In His Time.