A friend of mine woke up with a very uneasy feeling in the middle of the night. For quite some time, he could not go to sleep. Some creeping fear made him think about his elderly father who was sleeping in the bedroom below. Though there was no apparent need for concern, he went down to check.
His father seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He went up ….. and again came down. This time he called out to his father, then shook him silently. His father was not responding. He then noticed that his father is gasping for breath. He ran out like a mad man and woke up a neighbor down the street-the only one among his friends who had a car. Together they somehow lifted his very heavy father and took him to their family physician’s nursing home. The duty doctor there saw the elderly gentleman in intense trauma and suggested that he be to a bigger hospital.
When they reached the casualty of the big hospital, the patient was rushed into the ICU. A few minutes of suspense appeared like an eternity to my friend. Finally the doctor came out and quietly said, “He is no more.” My friend was shocked beyond belief. He blurted out, “ How can it be? What happened? ” The doctor, not wanting to waste any further time remarked, “By the time you brought him in, it was already too”, and walked away
It has been more than one year since that traumatic night. My friend still wakes up in the middle of the night with the Doctor’s words ringing in his ears. “By the time YOU brought him in…..” The entire responsibility dumped on the son . A son who loved his father more than his own life. He now lives a miserable life every now then brooding on how he could have brought in his father earlier.
Write in just one or two sentences what thoughts go in your mind when read the about true story.
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ReplyDeleteMy Feelings for this story
ReplyDelete1. This guy like any other obedient son is attached to his father and respects him very much.
2. Death unfortunately is a permanent phenomenon and it s not something that can be reversed. Hence he must learn to cope with the situation.
My feelings
ReplyDeleteThough the incident is very sad and the guilt attached to the incident is also understandable, the facts here are
1. the father was old
2. none of us in this world are immortal
3. The son did every thing possible at that point of time that any other person in his place would have done
4. Moreover, the doctor when he said "if only... " was not personalizing the comment, it was a general opinion of the incident - so there was no accusation from his side!
5. The self pity and the guilt ride that our friend is going thro' is not allowing him to lead a normal life. If I were in his place, I would seek counsel from a friend or a confiante.
Hi this is Bindu here,
ReplyDeleteMan is born to die. Any normal human being would get affected by the Doctor's comment, and the son going into depression is natural. However, better sense should've prevailed upon the son.
ReplyDeleteThe son on his part did his best to revive his father, in the process, if the catastrophe occurred, the son should accept it as divine intervention and that it was time for his father to exit the world of mortals.
Every child wants it's parent to live on and on, but is it feasible? This question needs to be put forward gently and maybe the son will help himself out of the depressive state that he is in.....