Gratitude diaries 20

Dr Fazal Nabi

I suppose if things had gone the way they should have, I would have chosen a paediatrician before the babies were born, maybe in my final month of pregnancy. But things didn't go as planned and I met my paediatrician, who Dr.Anahita chose and corralled into my emergency C-section, at one'o clock in the morning, in the operation theatre. He smiled and said hello but didn't introduce himself but I guessed he must be the paediatrician because I knew the other two were a stand by gynac and an anesthesist. Soon I was put under and then I saw him next in the morning when he walked into my room to assure me that the babies who I hadn't seen yet, were doing well, though prayers were needed. Over the next month, I saw him almost everyday, as he monitored my children and their progression through the various levels of care they needed. I found out from other people that he was an upcoming neonatologist, one of the best and most highly sought after in Mumbai these days. However, he was extremely humble and polite. One would never guess from his demeanour that he was a stud doctor. I was quite taken aback by the long hours he worked, unusual even for most doctors. We have seen him around at nearly all hours of the day and night at Jaslok Hospital. He was extremely sincere and was always when we needed him. I know he really cared about the infants he worked with, because I saw him nearly burst into tears at the NICU once, when one of his patients (someone else's baby) was having a crisis (and later died). Because of his care and diligence, we were able to take the children home from hospital in six weeks time. Over the years, he has taken care of the kids well and is always happy to see them and expresses wonder at how big they have grown. Given the fragile start they had, it is indeed to his credit that the kids are today healthy and normal- just like full term children. I will always be grateful to Dr Fazal for his care of the babies and count myself extremely lucky that we had a doctor like him to take care of the kids. It was to pay it forward in some way, that I asked him to recommend a charity where I could donate money on the kids' birthday. He told me of Bal Asha, an orphanage where he does pro bono work, and since then I have donated money almost every year to Bal Asha on the kids birthday. Thank you Dr Fazal and I hope that many more infants get to benefit from your expertise and care.