The departure of a true friend

Apart from Abdulhakeem’s closeness to me, the manner in which he lost his life is another reason that can be a cause for concern for any believer. On Thursday, 15th September, 2011, my wife, Adama Uthman, boiled some water to a very high degree. Before she mixed the boiled water, Allah had destined, she woke up Abdulhakeem from his sleep at around 6:37am. Normal for boys of his age, he hated going to school. The boy told his mother that he doesn’t want to be bathed, having known that after that, the next thing was school.

While the mother was persuading my good friend to take his bath, Abdulhakeem began to move backward, falling into the container of boiled water, sustaining first degree burns. We did not waste time in rushing Abdulhakeem to the ‘best’ hospital in town, the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Shika, Zaria. At the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Ward, doctors responded promptly. Because of the nature of the problem at hand, the doctors did not wait for me to make payment and they began using what they had. Later, when he began to stabilise, the bills started coming.

After five days in the A&E, Abdulhakeem was moved to the Pediatrics Ward. Tremendous progress was recorded and the doctors were seen openly congratulating themselves that he would soon get well. But he passed-on on Monday, October 3.

Abdulhakeem’s condition deteriorated when the doctors insisted that he needed blood.  Personally, I am uncomfortable with blood transfusions. On that ground, I pleaded with the Consulting Doctor whether he could assist us by providing an alternative. The doctor insisted that no medication or blood-enhancing food would bring Abdulhakeem’s blood to normalcy. So my younger brother donated, after passing all the requisite tests.

After about five minutes of administering the blood, the doctor left, telling my wife that she should not give Abdulhakeem anything, including water. While the transfusion was going on, Abdulhakeem began to ask for water and food, but since the doctor had left an instruction, my wife did not oblige. Not long after, my best friend became unconscious. Nurses were promptly intimated. Unfortunately, however, no nurse could administer anything to Abdulhakeem. After about 30 minutes, one of them was found and he immediately called the rest. They got him stabilized, but on the following day, the condition deteriorated. A crowd of about 20 doctors who came to his aid could not help. Obviously, this is one reason why Allah is Supreme.

Three things were noticed when the resident doctor called his boss on Sunday to help him address the complications that arose during the blood transfusion. The Consulting Doctor queried the younger doctor on why he administered blood transfusion on a patient and left the Ward. Second, the Consultant sought to know from the younger doctor why he instructed that Abdulhakeem should not be given anything to eat or drink. Third, having known the condition that Abdulhakeem found himself the previous day, one would have expected the doctors to be close to him always the following day. For these reasons, some friends of mine, and even some of my bosses, dared to sue the ABUTH and the doctors for negligence. I felt that suing the hospital and the doctors may amount to being ungrateful to Allah who gave me Abdulhakeem in the first place.

The people who brought the suing idea also believe in what I believe but they want the doctors to be taught a lesson so that they would sit up while discharging their duties. I agreed with my friends and bosses on this ground, but I still argued that we may win in court and compensation may be paid to us but what about the initial and prompt assistance these doctors offered to us? Apart from that, the doctors were openly shedding tears when they failed to resuscitate Abdulhakeem.

However, it becomes clear that doctors should know that their profession is an important one. Therefore, any form of negligence may cause someone his life and put some people, including the doctors, in unquantifiable pain. So, doctors in ABUTH should double their efforts.

Abdulhakeem was born on January 3, 2007. He was a nursery II pupil of Umrabs School, Tudun Jukun, Zaria. He momorised one Hizf (chapter) of the Holy Qur’an, A’ala to Nasi, apart from being in grasp with little aspects of Arabic and English languages. While tears continue to flow from my eyes, I pray Almighty Allah for the repose of Abdulhakeem’s soul.

Rest in peace my best friend, Abdulhakeem. Indeed, Inna lillahi wa’inna ilaihi-raji’uun.