How my zoologist mother taught me to face death
I was six years old when I first became acquainted with death. It was a sunny morning, and I had had an epiphany. Perhaps it was spurred by the visit of a tarantula – not an uncommon sight around our home near the last stretches of India’s ancient Western Ghats. “Do we just go on like this forever?” I wondered. I stood in front of a picture of the Holy Family – Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint…
The child narrator, at the age of six, first encountered the concept of mortality during a visit to the home of her zoologist mother. The event that triggered this moment was the sighting of a tarantula, a common occurrence near their residence on the edge of India's Western Ghats. The child, seated before a picture of the Holy Family, voiced her concern about eternal life, addressing the divine beings in the frame as she did so.
Her mother, Amma, responded with a gentle smile, knowing that her own health had taken a turn for the worse. The family soon learned that Amma was suffering from a rare condition, idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura, an autoimmune disorder affecting one in a million people. As her illness progressed, Amma became increasingly frail, leading to an arrangement for the narrator to stay with her in the hospital.
During this period, the child learned essential medical skills, including how to read a clock, take a pulse, and administer injections. Amma, a trained zoologist, was a source of wonder and knowledge for the young narrator. Her laboratory, filled with preserved specimens, became a place of enchantment for the child, who spent hours learning about various creatures and their biological functions.
Despite the challenges posed by Amma's declining health, she remained resilient and maintained an optimistic perspective on life. Amma explained her medical conditions with patience and enthusiasm, describing the underlying processes in a manner that was both enlightening and reassuring. Throughout the years, the relationship between mother and daughter centered around scientific discourse and exploration, fostering a deep bond between them.
As Amma's health continued to deteriorate due to chronic myeloid leukaemia, the child learned to appreciate the beauty of her mother's stoic nature, despite the inevitable conclusion of their time together. The final months of Amma's life were marked by a visit to the hospital, where they encountered a chameleon changing colors on a tree.
This final moment together brought the narrator a sense of peace and reminded her of the simple joys that had been shared with her mother. As Amma passed away in 2018, the child was left grappling with the loss of her beloved mother, having spent two decades witnessing her mother's suffering from two rare diseases. Despite the grief, the narrator found solace in cherishing the memories of her mother's scientific curiosity, her unwavering optimism, and the simple moments they had shared.
Written by urgent.news from The National UAE's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
