Pages

Monday, May 2, 2016

"Baby Zarah" by Ishmam K


Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is the failure of the diaphragm to close in a newborn. My baby cousin, Zarah, was born with this condition. The diaphragm separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity and a muscles that assists breathing. Weakness can be seen as a bad link in what can be a very strong chain. Growing up I had very healthy cousins who made me feel like our family in no way had a weakness due to extreme illness. Being the last one to get married, my Chachu (uncle) and Chachi (aunty) had the last cousin that would be born in our branch of the Khan lineage, Zarah.
            At the day of her birth, our family was not allowed to visit the hospital and I had no idea on why. It had been about two weeks until I finally learned that the baby we have all been desperately waiting for had hole in diaphragm that allowed her intestines to start sliding up to her lungs. At that point I felt like our family can be really weak but baby Zarah proved me very wrong. She had a major surgery and her condition was very life threatening. Thanks to modern medicine, our little baby Zarah made it through very major bump in her life.
It had been 4 months after birth that Zarah would be allowed to leave the hospital. When she did, our families from all over the state came to visit her. After leaving the hospital, Zarah’s only way to be fed was through a tube that would inject milk into her stomach. This condition also directly affected her breathing so she also had breathing tubes for the first year of her life. When my family looked at her, they saw little weak baby with a lot of problems and as did I. I had no idea that I was looking at the chain that would keep our family together.
Zarah had learning disabilities along with this condition. One of the issues that came with this disability was that Zarah couldn’t understand how someone is able to chew food and further from that is how they swallow that food. She never experienced breastfeeding like many infants should for their own self confidence studies show. However, this didn’t stop her from trying. This little blessing that came into our life would take food into her mouth and sit the for like an hour and not spit it out. The first time I saw her trying this was on a thanksgiving dinner where everyone sat around and ate. I noticed her put food into her mouth and I got extremely scared because I felt like she would choke. When I asked her to spit it out she just sat there with the food in her mouth. Zarah had turned about 4 so she was at the stage that everything was hers. She acted like as if I were taking her Minnie doll which she was extremely territorial over. Then I figured that the Zarah felt left out. She had turned five when she finally began to eat a bit normally but the tube was still her primary source for nutrients.
            One more day came where it felt just as scary to the family as the moment she was born. Zarah’s diaphragm opened once again and her intestines began to slide up to her lungs. This meant another major surgery at very young age which I have never seen anyone go through. At this point that point I realized just how strong this baby was. After the surgery, there were very few times where Zarah would complain about her pain which was there. My sister and I babysit Zarah on daily basis and her improvement as child seems amazing though having disabilities. Her ability to read is particularly impressive at her age and makes me actually want to start reading. Anytime she has to read, she would bother me for hours to read with her. Her work ethic would make many people of older age feel bad about their own work ethic.
            I can’t be more thankful that I get to see her every day after a long day of school. Zarah taught me what perseverance truly meant. I have a very hard time sticking to what I felt was important in any subject so I had to learn to put it in my mouth and sit, no pun intended. She had been through very tough situations and made it through them bravely and victoriously. I saw this baby as a weakness for a little but her progression showed me that she is stronger than anyone in my family. She has become the symbol of our strength in our family for those who know us.

21 comments:

  1. Talking about someone in your family isn't common. Most people don't have the nerve to even do so. I'm glad to here that your cousin is doing well and gives me a lesson, never stop believing. Your cousin is very strong and brave for going through multiple surgerys at a young age, that is true bravery.

    Ricky Martin
    Per.4

    ReplyDelete
  2. This was so beautiful! ISH i loved it!! Your passion and love for your family was so evident in every word! Best wishes to you and your family and I hope that many blessings of health are in the future for you all!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This piece is very eye opening and emotional! This piece must have been hard for you to write since it holds a lot of strong feelings. But from this, I can see the love and care you have for your family. Also, this clearly shows everyone how strong we,humans, are no matter what our size and age is as long as the love and support from our loved ones are present. I hope for the best for you and your family!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really found this piece very touching. The fact you chose to talk about you're baby cousin and how she helped teach you perseverance was a great idea. The passion and love you have for your family really made my day. Great job!
    Period 5

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really found this piece very touching. The fact you chose to talk about you're baby cousin and how she helped teach you perseverance was a great idea. The passion and love you have for your family really made my day. Great job!
    Period 5

    ReplyDelete
  6. You're a great friend and a great guy as well. I can feel your love for your family and their love for everyone. I'm glad that you can learn from her and she can learn to grow up so well at an early age. Great piece Ishmam, I could really feel emotion throughout the piece.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This story is ver emotional and touching. You are very brave to talk about this topic and I can see you did all of this out of love.It is very good when you can learn things from your loved ones. Thank you for sharing such a touching piece with us.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This was a very emotional piece Ishman. Talking about a serious medical condition about a family member is definitely tough. But by doing so, you really demonstrated the love you share for your family. I hope baby Zarah and your family is both strong and happy!
    Joseph Jacinto
    Period 5

    ReplyDelete
  9. This story is very powerful. it shows that people take advantage of their lives to often. your cousin sounds like a strong person and will be fine. it's cool that you two have that relationship learning from eachother

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am completely in love with Baby Zarah after reading this! This piece was absolutely beautiful! You did such a job with this narrative, specifically by taking the reader through the journey that Zarah had to go through. Loved it!
    -Alexis Carmona
    Period 5

    ReplyDelete
  11. ISH great job on this very emotional piece of writing. This is a very powerful story. After reading this i see how much you care for your family and I believe everyone should because some people don't have families like we do. So, enjoy what you have great job.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ishmam,
    This piece is so amazing and heartfelt! It comes through just how much you love baby Zarah, and your tone of admiration shows us just how strong she is. I love how you described her as so strong and independent regardless of how much she has been put through. Really powerful piece!
    Aubrianne Milton
    Period 5

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow this story inspired and reminded me the importance of being humble. It makes me so proud how much of a good role model you are to your cousin. Your positivity is felt by everyone and we all appreciate it very much and it never goes unnoticed. Thank you for sharing this piece and both you and baby Zahra are lucky to have each other. -Salman

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ish this was great because I know how much family means to you, especially Zarah. I think it was wonderful that you were able to open up and share this inspirational story with us.

    Alexa Ayala
    Period 2

    ReplyDelete
  15. This story was very impactful. It reminded my self to be more self-less. It was also very good personal reflection for me. Good Job!

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is a great story. I can tell it means a lot to you cause its about your family. I see that Zarah plays a big part in your life. Its so insiprational. Good work.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ishmam this piece is so impressive and emotional. your diction and vocabulary is extended and makes me intrigued. It definitely reminds me to be selfless and appreciative of everything. Great Job! it was very touching.
    P2

    ReplyDelete
  18. This story really impacted me, which reminded to be less selfish. The vocab is really extended making me perplexed yet very intrigued.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This story really touched my heart. I enjoyed how you you talked about your cousin and showed such a selfless love!

    ReplyDelete
  20. This story is so emotional and beautiful! The love you have for your cousin is portrayed so specifically that sometimes throughout the piece I felt like she was my cousin too. I'm utterly amazed at the amount of expression and love that you poured out into this piece! The first few words of the piece really intrigued me to continue reading because I've never heard of the condition and I wanted to know more about what it was. Thank you for sharing this story with us and allowing your emotions to jump off of the screen.

    ReplyDelete
  21. This is a very sweet emotional story and its cool to know you opened up about this. Never stop writing about things that inspire you the most.-melodie baptiste period 1

    ReplyDelete

Remember, make your comment positive, supportive, and specific to the piece you're commenting on. No anonymous comments! :)