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Quest
A brush with death
The night after Diwali, I remembered I had to finish an important essay so I sat down to write it. At around 11-45 p.m. I could no longer stay awake, so I brought out a bed sheet from my closet and spread it out on the floor and lay down to sleep.
I woke up feeling a severe burning around the ankle on my left leg. I examined the wound. It was blood red and swollen. I squeezed it hard and a white semi transparent liquid came out from a hole the size of a pinprick. I switched on a brighter light and discovered another pinprick like wound.
Sleep continued to elude me . I switched on the light, put some ice cubes in a napkin and tied it tightly around the wound. I woke up mum, who is an expert in home remedies. She immediately brought a clove of garlic and rubbed it on my wound because we thought it was a insect bite. Dad finally suggested we go to a doctor. In the meantime I felt a stiffness creeping up my throat and I was unable to remain steady. Instinct told my dad to rush me to Apollo Hospital. By then, my jaw was becoming stiff. My tongue was like a rod and my senses seemed to be rebel against me. I fought hard to keep my eyes open and my body wanted to sag. I was rushed into the emergency ward. My throat was swollen and I could not vomit. The nurse understood me and she got a vacuum pipe and sucked it all out. I felt a hot searing pain in my lungs and my body. They sedated me and inserted an IV and took a blood test. But I still could not breathe unless I was laid on one side. Soon I blacked out.
All I remember is that four people were trying to hold me down. When I woke I could not see a thing, but I could tell that my eyes were wide open. All I heard was mum's, dad's and Sebastian's uncle's (a family friend and nature lover) voices. I could feel tubes down my throat and however hard I tried I could not breathe. When I woke up I could breathe on my own. The tubes were still in my throat and I was tied to my bed.
After I was untied I was told it was October 31. I sighed and went back to sleep. After another 12 hours when I woke up I was relieved that the tubes had been removed and I was in the ICU. The first few people who met me were mum, dad, uncle Sebastian, Sushee, my best friend and Brother Lawrence, our Principal.
When I was discharged I came to know I was bitten by a cobra. This was confirmed when my dad and the neighbours searched the house in the morning and found the culprit, a 3-1/2 ft long cobra. I was in ICU for three days and on the ventilator for 14 hours.
With God's grace I am on my feet once again. Staying alive would have been impossible if not for the sincere prayers of all my well-wishers. I thank God for giving me this new lease on life and I promise to make the most of it.
Winny Bhushan S, VIII B
Hyderabad: St. Paul's High School
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