The beauty of life and the sorrow of death is indeed fascinating. It is the basis of my attraction towards my desired profession and the life I want to live by.

When a loved one goes to heaven in front of you, obliviating his, or hers in my case, memory is not easy and such a painful moment can’t be forgotten. Especially when you did all you could but unfortunately, couldn’t save their life.

My lovely and closest sister was a sweet little girl. Her smile was so innocent as she would wake me up to ask for biscuits and sweets. She was 3 years old when she passed away. Her sickness started 3weeks before her death, we took her to different hospitals and treated her with medications and prayers but unfortunately, we couldn’t save her life.

She was hospitalized for three days. Two days before her death, she lost her eyesight, sense of hearing, body weight, her neck couldn’t support her head and finally couldn’t eat anything. A feeding tube was inserted inside her nasal cavity down to the stomach to feed her. Four drips were added and many injections were given to her.
She had been crying and her lacrimal glands had been secreting for almost half an hour, her heart was the only visible organ functioning for almost 34hours before her death.

A part of me knew she wouldn’t recover because I saw her lying dead in my dream approximately a week before her death but I didn’t relate my vision to anybody. I wanted that which I saw in my dream to not happen in reality. Ever since I lost a loved one, my love for medicine has increased as each day passed and I’m in search of solace.

Being a doctor requires the ability to make decisions pertaining to life and death. And it is tremendously rewarding. I want to save lives, that is the main reason why I want to become a doctor. Not for the money involved, but for its beauty and my love for humanity.

Written by MMHaliru, Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.