Behind A Smile ✔

29

Hafsa couldn't bring herself to at least take a seat. She was pacing to and fro in the hospital, anticipating the emergence with anxiety. Her demeanor was detorted in extreme worry.

Ramlah, who had been gazing at her mother all that while, ambled towards her in a subtle manner and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Please have a seat, mum." She beseeched. "You're making me feel dizzy with the way you're pacing about. Please stop it already. In shaa Allah, Adnan will be fine. I'm sure it's just a harmless fever."

"I hope so." She muttered. Inexplicably, she was having a bad feeling. Ever since he was birthed, this was the first time he was rushed to the hospital. She felt uneasy. "I-" just as she was about to say something else, the doctor - who looked not more than thirty three years of age emerged from the emergency room.

Both Hafsa and Ramlah rushed towards him.

"How's he doing, doctor?" Ramlah inquired, apprehensively.

"What happened to him all of a sudden?" Hafsa added, impatiently. She didn't want him to beat about the bush.

Sighing, the doctor spoke up; "you boh have to calm down in order to understand what I'm about to disclose to you."

"Calm down?" Hafsa's brows furrowed in confusion. "We're calm. Please just tell us how he is doing."

"He was diagnosed with kidney disease." The doctor replied, pressing his lips in a thin line. He knew the news would be hard for the family to digest.

Ramlah gasped - this was more than what she bargained for. She couldn't believe her ears. She must have heard wrong. Her gaze instantly darted to her mum, whose eyes had already brimmed up and was glistening with unshed tears.

Hafsa's lips quivered. "How... How comes, doctor? He was fine earlier. You must be mistaken. He is just a child." She chuckled, humorlessly.

"Kidney disease in children is diagnosed the same way it is in adults. A urine test, blood test, imaging test, or kidney biopsy can help determine if something is wrong with the kidneys - which we all did and each test confirmed it. I'm sorry, but I'm not mistaken."

"How bad... Is it?" Hafsa dared to ask in spite of how apprehensive she was.

Ramlah fidgeted with her purse as she awaited his response.

"Very bad." He replied, empathetically. "It's almost at stage five - kidney failure. He has a condition of renal dysplasia."

"What does that mean?" Ramlah interjected.

"Being born with two kidneys, but one that does not work. Children born with a single kidney or one non-working kidney have a higher chance of getting kidney disease later in life. If a child is born with a kidney birth defect, you should ensure you talk to the child's pediatrician about how often they should be checked for signs of kidney disease. I suppose you've never." He censured.

"We had no idea." Ramlah defended. If we had known, we would have taken it seriously." She added.

"You didn't?" The doctor asked in disbelief. "How comes? The doctor in charge of the delivery could be sued."

"Doesn't matter right now." Hafsa wiped her tears. "You said he was born with two kidneys, but one doesn't work?"

"Yes. Dysplasia." He affirmed.

"And the other one is about to fail?" She continued. "Why? What triggered it?"

"Children often develop kidney disease for different reasons than adults do. The causes are many. I think we should head to my office, so I can explain everything to you in details."