nursing her love, a life reborn

The listeners sat motionless as Susha Thomas spoke about her own life. Some people in the audience cried, others clasped their fingers and some expressed signs of disbelief as Susha, 36, standing beside her husband, spoke at length about her life's greatest struggle to date - her husband's brain death following a car accident and subsequent survival.

Susha, an Indian nurse employed at the Amiri Hospital has been doing this: sharing her optimism about life to people at meetings that are arranged by associations. Her husband, Biju Thomas, whose 'dead body' was almost arranged to be sent to India about a year ago, after his tragic accident along the Fifth Ring Road, makes his presence felt. "Actually, it's all a blessing, " Susha said, "I still can't believe how I managed to live through those miserable times. Biju's state was uncertain, there was a case filed with the police. I had to take care of the children, go for duty, do shopping, I wonder how I collected myself.

The couple, who have been residents of Salmiya since they came to Kuwait nine years ago, have two boys, aged seven and five, "My greatest challenge was to set things right for children and controlling my emotions before them was not easy," Susha said. "Again, I attribute that the balance of mind to a power that is much greater. Biju's accident took place in March, especially in terms of our younger son's school admission. I decided that things should be normal for them, while I was on fasting for 12 days till Biju showed signs of life.

As miracle would have it, Susha's husband was discharged from the hospital after 50 days. She has been more grateful to life ever since. She also wanted to share the joy of her most treasured gift - a life given back. Now between being a working mother and an extra-caring wife, Susha finds time to go to meetings that are arranged by various associations.

Wherever she goes, people thank her for her inspirational story and her stoic attitude, "I am more expressive now," she said. "I'm not a born speaker. But while I address a gathering, words emanate from within me and I don't find myself inhibited when tears roll down, as I narrate my story to them. I think I won't continue to be a speaker. This is for a while. I've a story to tell. When it has reached the maximum number of years, I'll retire,".she continued.

There was this inner urge in me after I returned to a normal state to give something back to life. That's how I began telling my story in public. Also, there were many people - from my colleagues to relatives to strangers, who helped me during hard times. I remember Dr Hassan Khaja, a neurosurgeon at Amiri Hospital who showed me kindness. I'm thankful to the stranger who phoned me and said 'Everything will be alright.'

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