Her Everything [ Book #1]

Chapter - 23

The prologue for 'His Saving Grace' is out. Check it out now and let me know. Follow me to know more about the updates and oncoming stories.

Mariam was pacing frantically, with a whimpering Zahaan in her arms. The toddler's head was resting on her shoulder, with his small arms clutched tightly around her neck.
"Urts, mommy," He whimpered, painfully.

"I know sweetheart, I know. We're here to see the doctor okay?"

"No!" Zahaan yelled, and Mariam flinched at the shrill voice ringing directly in her ear. "No doctor!"

"Sweetheart, come on. The doctor will give you medicine and then you will feel better. Your ear won't hurt anymore." Mariam told him, rubbing his back soothingly while swinging him around camly.

"No," He spoke but more softly this time. He sounded almost defeated.

"Mommy is right here, baby," Mariam said and her voice cracked at the pain of her child. She was trying desperately to convince her stubborn son to go inside where Doctor Knight was waiting.

Dr. Knight was Zahaan's pediatrician, and had been for years now. 

He was the doctor in charge when Mariam and Zeyad had rushed into the hospital at 2 in the morning with a burning up Zahaan in Zeyad's arms.
Zahaan's eyes had suddenly rolled back into his head after hours of crying. That was the time they found out that their son had an ear infection, along with the very heartbreaking news that Zahaan had autism. He began showing signs a lot earlier, but they were very subtle to be noticed. So, when Dr.Knight treated him for his infection, he had caught the signs.

His symptoms were the usual - delayed speech, Mariam had noticed that Zahaan was very slow with his speaking skills and had even consulted a doctor about it, but during that time it wasn't that obvious that it could be autism and had assumed that it was due to his hearing impairment.

He later started avoiding eye contact and that's what caught Dr. Knight's attention.

After conducting some tests, it was confirmed that Zahaan in fact had Autism Spectrum.

Mariam was devastated at the news and had cried all night, praying to the almighty, asking for forgiveness for whatever she had done. She believed it was because of her sins that Allah (SWT) was punishing their child.
Zeyad was worried too, but he had wowed to do everything that he could for his son. And Zahaan wasn't even the problem. The problem was Mariam. It took him a long time to convince her that Zahaan would be okay, that everything would be fine.

The first  two years were difficult, they didn't know how to react to one of Zahaan's fits. He would start repeating the same thing over and over if he was upset or throw things when angry. The worst thing was when one morning Zahaan came limping to their room crying  about pain in his left leg, when Zeyad pulled him up on the bed, he took in a sharp breath. Mariam asked what it was and gasped when she saw that his ankle was bent at a wierd angle. They had asked if he fell from his bed or the stairs but he only shook his head no.

"Are you sure, Zahaan? Do you remember falling?"

"I no fall," He had cried.

They again rushed into the hospital, again after running some more tests, it was found that there was some nerve damage in his left side of the brain, resulting in deafness and now a deformation in the left side of his body.

Apart from all that he was fine. He was smart for his age and had learned sign language pretty quickly. He was slow with his speech but quick with his hands.

At the age of four, Zahaan was still very small in size and was often mistaken for a three year old.

Mariam heard hurried steps behind her and saw Zeyad walking towards them. The buttons to his suit jacket were open, his tie hanging loosely around his neck with his dark glasses in place. Even frantic and worried, he managed to look handsome. He always looked handsome to Mariam, though. She blushed at the thought.