Baby Lenin returns home after being confined in the hospital. He stayed for four days, and the round the clock vigil had robbed his parents of sleep. His urine samples showed infection. Someone was careless to let piss and feces collect in his diapers. On his first night, the baby's fever soared to 41 centigrade. The news worried the matriarch so bad, she asked me to inform the favorite aunt of Lenin's condition. Despite the risk of breaking her no-call-beyond-nine policy, I dialed her landline to seek consolation. We thought the situation called for urgency, but our panic had only earned her ire.
Nevertheless, the doctors-on-duty got some scolding from their esteemed professor. (who is also the favorite aunt) We were told that they assembled around Baby Lenin that night to personally attend to his condition. The fever disappeared after an hour and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Antibiotics was pumped into the poor infant's bloodstream the next morning. The favorite aunt wasn't satisfied. She recommended a complete ultrasound of Lenin's internal organs. Her prognostication terrified us all. What if it turns out to be a birth defect? How could we accept such tragic revelation? Prayers were offered to assure a worried family. Fortunately the findings were normal. Higher dosages were eventually required to speed up his recovery. The in-laws came to visit. My mom, in her frail state was present at the hospital every night. Her dedication unfaltering, the toll on her health concerns us all.
Now that the ordeal is over, let me confess a revelation I never shared at home. A day before fever struck my poor nephew, I had a bad dream about another aunt. I remember her sobbing over something which wasn't revealed at the start. I had to look closer to find the cause of her tears. To my horror I saw a small white coffin before the scene faded to black. I didn't pay attention to that dream until I heard my nephew's shrill inside the ER.
Mom stops at the man-sized statue of the blessed mother before leaving the hospital
as she lets her intentions known
I could only whisper my prayers begging the heavens not for my dream to come true.