My Labor Story (part 2)

        Her head came shaped like a mango school bus. (There is this joke that never gets old of how most kisii`s have mango shaped heads. No, hers didn’t come shaped like one. It was worse – it was shaped like a school bus.)

        I stared at her in horror, not moving an inch.

        All the stories my mum used to tell me of the day i was born flashed through my mind. Apparently i had also had the same issue….and some more. I had hair covering most of my forehead. My mother, an eighteen year old who probably had not figured out anything  about her life yet, let alone me, was mortified.

A few moments later when my aunt – her sister- came to visit, the situation went south real quick.

      ¨What the hell is that?¨ My aunt asked in a horrified voice, pointing a fat finger at me.

       ¨I don’t know,¨ my mother said in a whisper

        ¨Why is her head shaped like that?¨ My aunt asked in an even lower voice.

        ¨I don’t know,¨ my mother repeated tiredly. She did not know what else to say. What would you have said?

        ¨We have to hide her,¨ my aunt said in a frenzy. She was worked up now. ¨No one has to see her head.¨

         Which is exactly what my mum did. She was eighteen; my aunt was twenty six years old. Since my aunt was older, she was by default the wiser one. The one who had seen life. How could my mother defy her? Thirty minutes later, my mother`s angry boyfriend was at her side, not too pleased with her decision.

         ¨Why is she covered to her eyes?¨ My father fumed.

          ¨Do you not see how her head looks like?¨ my mother shot back, albeit timidly.

           ¨Ahhhhh, mambo madogo haya,¨ he said assuredly. ¨our baby is perfectly okay.¨

He was confident, and my mom allowed herself to relax a bit. Ten minutes later, he handed her back her baby, head in perfect shape.

           ¨I should have been a masseur, he said proudly.

All these went through my mind as i stared at my baby.

          I shot out of bed as fast as i could, considering the trauma and stitches i had just had to undergo. Some parts of my body were on fire, literally, and at that point i could barely walk. Still, i bolted.

         ¨Doctor Salome!¨ i ran into her office without as much as a knock on the door. (i told you, i was an extremely stubborn patient).

          Four pair of eyes stared at me curiously. Her colleagues.

         I ignored them. Me, i had eyes for Salome only.

        ¨You have to come and see this,¨ i said breathlessly.

She excused herself and followed me.

        ¨Look at that head,¨ i said when we got to my bed. ¨We  need to do something about it, lest it remains permanently like that.¨

Salome smiled reassuringly. ¨In the next 24-48 hours, that head will have gone back to it`s original shape. Look, you have nothing to worry about. Most first borns come out that way because of a number of factors. She will be fine.¨

          I could hear none of it. How? What if 48 hrs pass by and that head doesn’t go back to its real shape? Then what? I get stuck with a baby that has a head shaped like a school bus? Come on daktari, just a little massage then, just in case…..you know.

          But Salome wouldn’t hear any of it. She stood her ground.

Also, wait a minute, does that mean my dad wasn’t the hero my mom had made him out to be? That my head would have eventually found it`s way into its original shape?

         Honestly , i regret not taking any photos of her that day. Only regret i have as at today. I was to confused, too stuck on the mundane, forgetting to take photos of what would have otherwise been beautiful (hilarious, but beautiful nonetheless) memories.

I was determined to set this straight (or, in this instance, round.) I secretly went looking for a nurse to fix the mess.

        Three different nurses.

        All of them said no.

        48 hrs. I had to sit for 48 hrs and wait. At this point, i truly did not have an option. So wait i did.

And yes, it did come around nicely  (pun intended). The irony of it all is that when this eventually happened i didn’t even notice. Not like i was to see it happening before my very eyes, what i mean is i eventually forgot about the whole incident, and when i did remember…..boom. There lay in front of me, a tiny human being with a perfect little head and the sharpest of eyes i had ever laid my eyes on.

     🙂 🙂

At this point, you could quantify my happiness. But not before the nightmare that was her legs begun.