Baby Jumper (Sharifah)
Petaling Jaya
My daughter was born on the 12th of July 2021. It was in the midst of Covid in Malaysia spiking to more than 20,000 cases a day and we were in active lockdown. A few days before she was born, my husband bought a newborn jumper with the words “the force is strong in this one” on it. We had a bunch of newborn clothes for her but I was most excited looking forward to seeing her wear that one. Unfortunately, we had to wait four months before we could put it on her as she was diagnosed with a rare liver condition at birth and was in the hospital fighting for her life in those months after she was born.
The jumper reminds me of the sadness and pain I felt during the pandemic. One, because I almost lost her. I am reminded of the feeling I had thinking I would never see her wear it. And two, because on the 15th of July 2021, my daughter was being examined to see if she was stable enough to undergo a very high risk procedure and I looked at my phone to see that Covid cases had spiked to 21,000 a day. If this had happened at any other time, my daughter would have been immediately transferred to a government hospital where she would have had access to the best specialists in the country and where her treatment would have cost only a fraction of what it did at private hospitals. I saw those numbers and my heart broke. It was then that I lost all hope. I thought to myself, “She’ll never get the help she’ll need now”.
Then I began to think of other persons out there, with someone they loved suffering a health crisis, who would not be able to get the help they needed because the hospitals were busy with Covid patients. I thought of other mothers and fathers and wondered if they had to bury their child only because they couldn’t afford care at a private hospital and couldn’t get a bed at a government hospital. I thought of everyone in the hospital fighting Covid and I remember feeling like I was on the event horizon of a black hole. I could see everything happening and yet was powerless to do anything about it.
Against all odds, my daughter was saved on that day. I remember the 15th now as a day of mixed emotions, with bitter feelings dancing with sweet rejoicing. I could tell you every single thing I felt on that day and when. Now, when I think of Covid, I think of the lockdown, I think of my daughter, of almost losing her, I think of that little jumper, tucked away in a dresser drawer because it is too painful even to look at it. I think of all the people we lost and of all the ways in which we’ve changed.
Contributor: Sharifah Aleysha
The jumper reminds me of the sadness and pain I felt during the pandemic. One, because I almost lost her. I am reminded of the feeling I had thinking I would never see her wear it. And two, because on the 15th of July 2021, my daughter was being examined to see if she was stable enough to undergo a very high risk procedure and I looked at my phone to see that Covid cases had spiked to 21,000 a day. If this had happened at any other time, my daughter would have been immediately transferred to a government hospital where she would have had access to the best specialists in the country and where her treatment would have cost only a fraction of what it did at private hospitals. I saw those numbers and my heart broke. It was then that I lost all hope. I thought to myself, “She’ll never get the help she’ll need now”.
Then I began to think of other persons out there, with someone they loved suffering a health crisis, who would not be able to get the help they needed because the hospitals were busy with Covid patients. I thought of other mothers and fathers and wondered if they had to bury their child only because they couldn’t afford care at a private hospital and couldn’t get a bed at a government hospital. I thought of everyone in the hospital fighting Covid and I remember feeling like I was on the event horizon of a black hole. I could see everything happening and yet was powerless to do anything about it.
Against all odds, my daughter was saved on that day. I remember the 15th now as a day of mixed emotions, with bitter feelings dancing with sweet rejoicing. I could tell you every single thing I felt on that day and when. Now, when I think of Covid, I think of the lockdown, I think of my daughter, of almost losing her, I think of that little jumper, tucked away in a dresser drawer because it is too painful even to look at it. I think of all the people we lost and of all the ways in which we’ve changed.
Contributor: Sharifah Aleysha
Where Are Our COVID Time Capsule Contributors From?
Zoom-in below to see where our contributors come from, or click here return to the Object Gallery.