Posts
RENDEZVOUS - When death grazed and left me to live
It was Tuesday, the 26th March 2002. The time was 6.55 PM. Christ Church, Palayam, Trivandrum which usually overflow with worshippers each time a worship is on, was unusually thin in attendance. Perhaps it was a working day that had turned the believers off. Or perhaps the fact that it was a special service in the Passion Week and that it was in the evening determined that it did not draw the usual crowd. The Choir was notable with its absence. Even the organist was not there to provide the familiar ambience. The Priest (Achen) stood at the top of the aisle and not at the altar. The previous Sunday was Palm Sunday. Achen had announced the programme for the Passion Week. When I heard that there would be Services in the evening on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Maundy Thursday, I had made up my mind to attend the service on Maundy Thursday and leave aside the services on the other days, as it was difficult to attend both the office and the church on all those days.
Ashwin, my younger son, as we had been passing by the church in the evening on Monday asked me what was happening in the church that day. The lights were on. I replied that as it was the Passion Week, the church would have special worships all through the week. The next day as I was about to leave for the office, Ashwin asked me about the worships on Passion Week and its significance. Reversing my earlier decision not to attend the church I told him that we would all go together to the church that day. We agreed to converge there in the evening.
Lila, my wife, was waiting for me at the church as I reached there. We were too early. We shared a few biscuits she had with her. The church was vacant when we made our entry. We were the sole occupants. Taking aisle seats at the head of adjacent rows for men and women we positioned ourselves at the middle. The aisle kept us apart. It was quite unusual as we had never taken those seats ever before. Later, we found to our surprise that both of us had a look at the tombs in the cemetery there as we entered the church. It crossed our minds that here was where we would end up one day. Further, during the course of the worship I had a cursory glance at all the fans in the church and it passed through my mind that the church had a mix of ancient and modern fans. Lila revealed that she had experienced apprehensions and dark forebodings with ominous designs welling up in her mind that evening as the worship progressed. She recollected that she had noticed a fan wobbling as it revolved the previous Sunday.
Christ Church and the Achens are well known for punctuality. The worship always begins at the appointed time, no matter the attendance. Rev. Shajan Idiculla began the worship at 6.30 PM sharp. The sequence of songs, prayers and readings from the Bible went on. Despite the thin attendance, I counted around one hundred worshippers in the church. The gentleman in front, Mr. Koshy Abraham was leading the songs. It was
6.55 PM. The congregation was on its feet singing together.
It all happened in a flash. There was a big bang. It was louder than several fireworks put together. I felt I had been severely hit on my head. The pain was intense. I put the book down and cupped the head with hands. I moved over to the aisle. Movement was slow. Lila ran to me. She held me tight. I heard her calling out, “Lalcha”. I did not realize that there was blood. Alarmed, she covered my head with her hands. I could not speak. I thought I would faint. In the normal run I could not withstand even a jab by the pin. Jacob Thomas, rushed towards us, held me and suggested that we moved on. As we reached the door, we found a chair. He helped me on to it. I felt blood trickling out when I took the hands off. Lila later told me that blood was gushing from several spots at once. I took out the hanky and covered the wound. I pressed the hanky firmly down hoping it would arrest the flow of blood. Suddenly, I had become the cynosure of all eyes. We had ten to fifteen members of the congregation around us. I asked Lila to retrieve my books and the glasses. She ran in and fetched them at once. Jacob sourced a piece of cotton to cover the wound. I placed it on top of the handkerchief and kept on pressing the wound down. The hand stayed there till I reached the safety of a hospital.
There was deliberation on the hospital to approach. A few of our friends and some members of the congregation offered their vehicles to shift me to a hospital. Lila was grateful for the offer of assistance. But she informed that our car was available and that she could drive me to the hospital.
Kuruvilla Kurien offered to drive the car. Lila said she would do it, as she did not wish to inconvenience anyone else. Jacob objected and advised Lila not to drive at that critical juncture. I told Lila to pay heed and let Kuruvilla drive.
Ashwin had not reached the church till then. When we had trooped out of the church to the car, I told Jacob that we were expecting our son to join us at the church. Jacob told us not to bother and promised that he would take care of Ashwin.
As I sat on the chair at the rear of the church I had tried to recap what really had happened. An old GEC fan, a heavy one at that, weighing around 30/40 Kgs, had broken free. It was revolving at full speed when it hurtled down on its own. It rested on the bench next to where I stood. When I looked into the church I could see the rod hanging there sans the fan. What must have happened, it was construed, was that either the dome or the blade had grazed the top of the head, slicing off the skin of one and a half inch in diameter before it had skidded on to the bench. The wound was superficial in general and was slightly deep at odd spots.
While we were about to board the car – it was past 7.00PM – I saw Ashwin coming in. Even at that time I had been wondering what was delaying him. The moment I saw him I raised my hand and called out. He did not know what had happened. He thought perhaps
the worship was over fast and that we were on our way back home. He felt something amiss when he found a stranger at the wheel. Lila quietly explained the strange happenings of the evening to him on the short ride. Cool boy he was, he took it calmly.
Kuruvilla as he started did not seem to know where to seek medical assistance. We presumed he was proceeding to Cosmopolitan Hospitals. When he did not take the left turn to Barton Hill, Lila said we had missed the Cosmopolitan turn off. Kuruvilla said we could either proceed to SUT or Cosmopolitan which ever was our preference. “Let it be Cosmopolitan”, Lila concurred.
Kuruvilla drove up to Pattom, turned and proceeded to Cosmopolitan. The traffic was heavy and slow. He manoeuvred the vehicle with great difficulty – he had to ensure that he did no further damage to the injured person - and managed to reach the ‘Emergency’ of Cosmopolitan with a liberal display of the high beam and the horn.
At the Cosmopolitan the sisters and the doctors on call were very kind and of great help. They dressed up the wound efficiently, gave me a shot of serum anti tetanus and kept me under observation for more than an hour. They found me stable and advised us to go home. We were cautioned to be careful and to return at once to the hospital in case we had observed anything out of the ordinary.
The doctors had a feeling that a skin graft might be necessary. Suturing was not possible, as the skin had been ripped off. They advised us to consult Dr.P.A.Thomas, the Plastic Surgeon in the morning next day.
Kuruvilla was of great assistance at the hospital. He ran around like an errand man.
The worship at the church, which had broken off with the big bang and subsequent developments, was resumed soon after we had stepped out. I heard Achen calling out to the congregation to pray for the speedy recovery of the injured as we left.
The phone started ringing the moment we reached home. People who were at the church and those who had heard of the mishap tried their best to cheer us up.
Lila is absolutely shy and diffident in expressing her feelings in public. I was quite surprised when she ran to me and held me tight when I had moved out to the aisle at the church. Reeling in pain I was disoriented to the hilt. The single act of love and concern when she held me must have prevented me from a fall. It could have been disastrous in that condition.
Lila kept her composure all through. She broke down for a while only after she got me home safe.
Dr.P.A.Thomas at the Cosmopolitan Hospitals examined the wound the next day. He ruled out skin graft.
Achen who had phoned up in the morning paid us a visit soon after our return from the hospital.
28th March 2002, Maundy Thursday
It has been phone calls and visitors for two days now. It has opened our eyes to the affection and concern people have for us. The phone keeps on ringing. People keep on visiting us. The goodness in man soothes us and spirits away the depression and the trauma within us.
God is just great. Miracles do happen. Here am I, the living example. I have no complaints. I praise the Lord for putting me through the ordeal and yet protecting me. On that fateful day, anything could have happened. But nothing untoward occurred. I am perfectly alright but for the bandage that covers my head. In the midst of an oncoming and unstoppable tragedy God’s hands worked miraculously and kept me safe. His dynamics had shifted me to a different dimension for a fraction in time to keep me out of virtual danger. God certainly is mysterious and an enigma.
I shudder at the thought in case I had absorbed the full impact. Death just grazed me and had left me to live.
-------------------------
Abraham Jacob, T.C 30/211 HNo.28, NSSKarayogam Road, Anayara PO,
Trivandrum 695029, Kerala, India
Phone: Cell 09447253532
Res 04712740722
It was Tuesday, the 26th March 2002. The time was 6.55 PM. Christ Church, Palayam, Trivandrum which usually overflow with worshippers each time a worship is on, was unusually thin in attendance. Perhaps it was a working day that had turned the believers off. Or perhaps the fact that it was a special service in the Passion Week and that it was in the evening determined that it did not draw the usual crowd. The Choir was notable with its absence. Even the organist was not there to provide the familiar ambience. The Priest (Achen) stood at the top of the aisle and not at the altar. The previous Sunday was Palm Sunday. Achen had announced the programme for the Passion Week. When I heard that there would be Services in the evening on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Maundy Thursday, I had made up my mind to attend the service on Maundy Thursday and leave aside the services on the other days, as it was difficult to attend both the office and the church on all those days.
Ashwin, my younger son, as we had been passing by the church in the evening on Monday asked me what was happening in the church that day. The lights were on. I replied that as it was the Passion Week, the church would have special worships all through the week. The next day as I was about to leave for the office, Ashwin asked me about the worships on Passion Week and its significance. Reversing my earlier decision not to attend the church I told him that we would all go together to the church that day. We agreed to converge there in the evening.
Lila, my wife, was waiting for me at the church as I reached there. We were too early. We shared a few biscuits she had with her. The church was vacant when we made our entry. We were the sole occupants. Taking aisle seats at the head of adjacent rows for men and women we positioned ourselves at the middle. The aisle kept us apart. It was quite unusual as we had never taken those seats ever before. Later, we found to our surprise that both of us had a look at the tombs in the cemetery there as we entered the church. It crossed our minds that here was where we would end up one day. Further, during the course of the worship I had a cursory glance at all the fans in the church and it passed through my mind that the church had a mix of ancient and modern fans. Lila revealed that she had experienced apprehensions and dark forebodings with ominous designs welling up in her mind that evening as the worship progressed. She recollected that she had noticed a fan wobbling as it revolved the previous Sunday.
Christ Church and the Achens are well known for punctuality. The worship always begins at the appointed time, no matter the attendance. Rev. Shajan Idiculla began the worship at 6.30 PM sharp. The sequence of songs, prayers and readings from the Bible went on. Despite the thin attendance, I counted around one hundred worshippers in the church. The gentleman in front, Mr. Koshy Abraham was leading the songs. It was
6.55 PM. The congregation was on its feet singing together.
It all happened in a flash. There was a big bang. It was louder than several fireworks put together. I felt I had been severely hit on my head. The pain was intense. I put the book down and cupped the head with hands. I moved over to the aisle. Movement was slow. Lila ran to me. She held me tight. I heard her calling out, “Lalcha”. I did not realize that there was blood. Alarmed, she covered my head with her hands. I could not speak. I thought I would faint. In the normal run I could not withstand even a jab by the pin. Jacob Thomas, rushed towards us, held me and suggested that we moved on. As we reached the door, we found a chair. He helped me on to it. I felt blood trickling out when I took the hands off. Lila later told me that blood was gushing from several spots at once. I took out the hanky and covered the wound. I pressed the hanky firmly down hoping it would arrest the flow of blood. Suddenly, I had become the cynosure of all eyes. We had ten to fifteen members of the congregation around us. I asked Lila to retrieve my books and the glasses. She ran in and fetched them at once. Jacob sourced a piece of cotton to cover the wound. I placed it on top of the handkerchief and kept on pressing the wound down. The hand stayed there till I reached the safety of a hospital.
There was deliberation on the hospital to approach. A few of our friends and some members of the congregation offered their vehicles to shift me to a hospital. Lila was grateful for the offer of assistance. But she informed that our car was available and that she could drive me to the hospital.
Kuruvilla Kurien offered to drive the car. Lila said she would do it, as she did not wish to inconvenience anyone else. Jacob objected and advised Lila not to drive at that critical juncture. I told Lila to pay heed and let Kuruvilla drive.
Ashwin had not reached the church till then. When we had trooped out of the church to the car, I told Jacob that we were expecting our son to join us at the church. Jacob told us not to bother and promised that he would take care of Ashwin.
As I sat on the chair at the rear of the church I had tried to recap what really had happened. An old GEC fan, a heavy one at that, weighing around 30/40 Kgs, had broken free. It was revolving at full speed when it hurtled down on its own. It rested on the bench next to where I stood. When I looked into the church I could see the rod hanging there sans the fan. What must have happened, it was construed, was that either the dome or the blade had grazed the top of the head, slicing off the skin of one and a half inch in diameter before it had skidded on to the bench. The wound was superficial in general and was slightly deep at odd spots.
While we were about to board the car – it was past 7.00PM – I saw Ashwin coming in. Even at that time I had been wondering what was delaying him. The moment I saw him I raised my hand and called out. He did not know what had happened. He thought perhaps
the worship was over fast and that we were on our way back home. He felt something amiss when he found a stranger at the wheel. Lila quietly explained the strange happenings of the evening to him on the short ride. Cool boy he was, he took it calmly.
Kuruvilla as he started did not seem to know where to seek medical assistance. We presumed he was proceeding to Cosmopolitan Hospitals. When he did not take the left turn to Barton Hill, Lila said we had missed the Cosmopolitan turn off. Kuruvilla said we could either proceed to SUT or Cosmopolitan which ever was our preference. “Let it be Cosmopolitan”, Lila concurred.
Kuruvilla drove up to Pattom, turned and proceeded to Cosmopolitan. The traffic was heavy and slow. He manoeuvred the vehicle with great difficulty – he had to ensure that he did no further damage to the injured person - and managed to reach the ‘Emergency’ of Cosmopolitan with a liberal display of the high beam and the horn.
At the Cosmopolitan the sisters and the doctors on call were very kind and of great help. They dressed up the wound efficiently, gave me a shot of serum anti tetanus and kept me under observation for more than an hour. They found me stable and advised us to go home. We were cautioned to be careful and to return at once to the hospital in case we had observed anything out of the ordinary.
The doctors had a feeling that a skin graft might be necessary. Suturing was not possible, as the skin had been ripped off. They advised us to consult Dr.P.A.Thomas, the Plastic Surgeon in the morning next day.
Kuruvilla was of great assistance at the hospital. He ran around like an errand man.
The worship at the church, which had broken off with the big bang and subsequent developments, was resumed soon after we had stepped out. I heard Achen calling out to the congregation to pray for the speedy recovery of the injured as we left.
The phone started ringing the moment we reached home. People who were at the church and those who had heard of the mishap tried their best to cheer us up.
Lila is absolutely shy and diffident in expressing her feelings in public. I was quite surprised when she ran to me and held me tight when I had moved out to the aisle at the church. Reeling in pain I was disoriented to the hilt. The single act of love and concern when she held me must have prevented me from a fall. It could have been disastrous in that condition.
Lila kept her composure all through. She broke down for a while only after she got me home safe.
Dr.P.A.Thomas at the Cosmopolitan Hospitals examined the wound the next day. He ruled out skin graft.
Achen who had phoned up in the morning paid us a visit soon after our return from the hospital.
28th March 2002, Maundy Thursday
It has been phone calls and visitors for two days now. It has opened our eyes to the affection and concern people have for us. The phone keeps on ringing. People keep on visiting us. The goodness in man soothes us and spirits away the depression and the trauma within us.
God is just great. Miracles do happen. Here am I, the living example. I have no complaints. I praise the Lord for putting me through the ordeal and yet protecting me. On that fateful day, anything could have happened. But nothing untoward occurred. I am perfectly alright but for the bandage that covers my head. In the midst of an oncoming and unstoppable tragedy God’s hands worked miraculously and kept me safe. His dynamics had shifted me to a different dimension for a fraction in time to keep me out of virtual danger. God certainly is mysterious and an enigma.
I shudder at the thought in case I had absorbed the full impact. Death just grazed me and had left me to live.
-------------------------
Abraham Jacob, T.C 30/211 HNo.28, NSSKarayogam Road, Anayara PO,
Trivandrum 695029, Kerala, India
Phone: Cell 09447253532
Res 04712740722
No comments:
Post a Comment