It wasn't just the stench of cleaning agents at Salem Clinic that got me irritated as I stepped out to get some air outside the ward. Everything got me irritated. The cries of loved ones whose hopes had been dashed, the faces of relatives screaming pain and frustration, alongside waiting patients eagerly waiting for the doctor to decide their fate, all got me restless.
For days, my eyes had not known sleep. I gradually watched the woman who meant everything to me lose her energy and beauty. Night after night, she got worse. What I dreaded most were the steps of the doctors whose words always spelt doom,over and again.
“ Can I see you in my office?” Dr Bella's voice interrupted my thought as I sat on the wooden bench outside the female ward.
“Okay, Ma,” I answered.
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What message of doom did she have for me this time? I wondered. For every time I stepped into Dr Bella's consulting room, the cold air, laced with her soft voice, couldn't save me from the ache that her words carried.
“ I know we've tried our best. We have done every scan and tried all possible, but your mother's legs need time. She may not walk for some months” She said
I stared at her closely for minutes, unable to give any response. I began to use my eyes to search the entire room like I needed to find something. Well, I needed to find help, but no matter how much I searched for it, neither the hospital nor the doctor could give me that.
I didn't realise I had got up from my seat and made for the door without uttering a word to the doctor. I was as good as handicapped. The only difference was that my own legs were still moving. I walked into the ward and watched my mother lay helpless. My stomach cringed in pain from the thought that this was all my burden to bear.
The cab arrived in no time and I wheeled her in the wheelchair the hospital had given out for use pending when she could walk again. We got home and she had a smell of good air after a while. The entire night, I was awake with my thoughts. I had to help my mother to walk again, so my own life could work too. The more she lay there helpless, I too would be helpless.
I didn't let the sun rise fully when I dashed out to see Tolu, my friend. He was an artist who sculpted the finest things. He had won several awards to his credit in the past years. We had to come up with something.
“ Tobi, I need your help” I said desperately.
Tobi looked at me with so much surprise. It was just about some minutes past 6:00 am, and he had not seen me in a while.
“Guy, that your art, cast in iron, we need to start again” I said looking very serious. Tobi looked at me for a while, then he burst into a very serious laugh that provoked me. If seeing my mother walk again didn't mean so much to me, I would have left and never returned for such mockery.
“ You know the art was a mere trial. We can't even be sure it can serve the purpose you want it to.” Tobi responded, sounding sensible for the first time.
I wanted to say something else, but my phone's continuous beep interrupted. It was my neighbour. I had asked her to call if anything went wrong with mama.
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Mama lay there on the floor helpless. Each time I saw her this way, it made me want to move the world just to help her get up. I moved her wheelchair close and got her on it.
“ You'll walk again” I whispered slowly to her. I was ready to travel to the ends of the world to make that happen. After making sure she had eaten and had her medication, I set out again.
Tobi's studio had a lot. The last time he tried the iron leg attachment for amputees, I laughed over the idea. We weren't serious about it. Now, I had made my mother a promise, and I wasn't going to go back on it. We had a guide we used to put us through how we needed to create the iron mould that would help her walk. If all things went well, we were to attach this to her leg, and she would be able to walk.
Night and day, we stayed in the studio. I only stepped out to look after my mother and return again. We had to invite Tobi's younger brother over to help. It was a lot of work casting the iron leg. Filing it into the shape of a human leg took most of the time, but we were getting there.
The next morning, I got home to see my mom.
“ Mom, I have a gift for you,” I said with so much excitement.
With Tobi's help, we raised her from the chair and strapped the iron attachment to her left which was weak and caused her the pain she was in. As much as I was confident, I was a bit scared if it would work.
My confidence wasn't in vain. The attachment fit so well, that she inadvertently began to move, even when she had not done that in months. In a fit of excitement, I screamed so loud. This was my dream, and it had become reality. For the first time in months, my mother smiled and shed tears that came from a place of deep joy.
