Life, as I never saw it.

I’ve always been a very happy go lucky person taking each day as it comes. But one incident changed it all.

It made me realize that life is not exactly one happy picture as I imagined it to be.

1st of December 2008, was the day my grandmother or ‘nani’ as I would call her was admitted to the hospital because of a major respiratory congestion that could not be treated at home. Five days after her stay in the hospital her health deteriorated and she was shifted to the ITU or the Intensive Care Unit. She was immediately put on the ventilator. She had a rice tube for nourishment, a tube on her neck, one going through her nose and countless no of channels on her slender white hands.

I was left speechless when I saw her in this condition .She looked so pale. Days passed and we would wait for her to open her eyes or move her hand so as to show an indication of her improvement. She remained unconscious for a long time and the days she opened her eyes we were overjoyed. Not knowing how short lived it was. Nani never recovered but slowly left this world.

The last time I touched her feet before she was cremated was a very emotional time for me. I knew this was the last time I could see her. Tears were uncontrollable. I wanted to just hold on to her and keep her with me for life but I knew I couldn’t. Seeing death at such close quarters was

a first for me and I must not lie about being brave. I was scared, scared beyond words could say. We always give so much of importance to material things that we forget about the people who really care for us. Nani, wherever you are, I want you to know that you are greatly missed and I owe everything that I am to you. You made my world, you were my world.