“You want to die? Then throw yourself into the sea and you will see yourself fighting to survive. You do not want to kill yourself, rather you want to kill something inside of you.”
– An Arabic saying

Many anticipate the birth of their children but not everyone gets to hold the fruit of their womb.

“Please save my child, please!” Gugu cried, as the paramedics lifted her into the ambulance.

“Ma’am, try to calm down and tell us exactly how you are feeling,” one of the paramedics said, as he fixed the stretcher into place in the ambulance and sat down on a seat next to her.

“I just started feeling sharp pains in my stomach and then the bleeding started,” Gugu gasped.

The paramedic nodded, putting a blood pressure monitor on her arm. “Okay, ma’am, I really need you to calm down and breathe deeply. We will get you to the hospital soon. How far along are you?”

“Seven months, he’s my first,” Gugu said, trying to remain calm. The only thing she could think about was her unborn child. “Is he alright? Will he survive? It’s not yet time, why am I feeling so much pain?”

Her mind was foggy, the ambulance’s siren wailing as it rushed her to the hospital. She could hear the traffic outside – cars rushing by and taxis hooting. It sounded like everyone was minding their own business and going on with their day as if nothing had happened.

The ambulance came to a stop and the paramedic opened the door and jumped out. They had arrived at the hospital.

The paramedics lifted the stretcher out of the ambulance and rushed her towards doors with the words Emergency on them.

A young woman in a white coat came up to Gugu as the paramedics lifted her onto a hospital bed. “Hi Gugu, I’m doctor Dlamini, I’ll be taking care of you.”

“Save my child, doctor!” Gugu cried. These were the last words she said before she passed out.

The doctor called out to a nurse on duty. “Prepare theatre 2, we need to operate on her immediately! We might still be able to save the child!”

Gugu was pushed down the corridor to the operating theatre, the doctor and nurses working as fast as they could in an attempt to save the two lives …