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Last Day in Calcutta

Steph Modder

Today is our last day in Calcutta. The skies have opened and rain is washing the streets of their refuse, debris and filth. We arrived at the hospital with a few more floors to measure in hopes of completing our task before our departure tomorrow morning for New Delhi.

Amanda and I started on the Pediatric floor. She had been allowed entrance into the N.I.C.U. to observe treatment for a couple failing infants. One, belly distended and every rib countable, expired in her presence. The baby in the bed next to the other was being treated for sepsis and was in serious condition. As we were measuring this morning, we were told that the child had expired. The room we were in had one female patient laying with eyes closed and being comforted by her newlywed husband and a friend. The men tried to explain what happened but the heavy accent and hush with which they spoke made it hard to distinguish exactly what she was suffering from. As we measured the wall next to her she began to weep, a deep soul severed weep. Amanda and I felt helpless and intrusive as we tried to accomplish our task, but we felt like we needed to at least offer to pray for her.  We spoke to the friend and he ushered us into the corridor and proceeded to explain what happened. As it turns out, the baby was who was being treated for sepsis was her little boy and he died this morning. She was in such distress that her husband hasn’t told her their baby is dead. She cannot get control of herself, we will tell her in two or three days, his friend said.  She keeps asking, Bring me my baby. I want to see my baby. A mother’s heart knows when something is wrong. I can only assume she is thinking the worst but no one will confirm that for her. We offered again to pray with her but the friend wouldn’t allow it. We told him we would pray to Jesus, who we believe can heal her heart. That was the best we could do in the moment. We then went next door and tried to start measuring that room, but couldn’t. The heaviness of the previous room was too much. So we did the only thing we could do—we prayed, cried, and prayed.

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