When My Daughter Lost With Dignity

Around the same time last year was the annual sports meet at my 5 year old daughter’s school. She was participating in hurdle race, as she took position for race I knew she was going to lose it. She had practiced well and a week ago her teacher had told me she is very agile and for sure will win the race.

I looked at her face as she smiled back at me, already showing signs of fatigue. I looked at her left hand, just to be sure the IV device is firmly at place. It was fastened at place with bandages and had been a source of continuous irritation for her for last 3 days. It would stay there for another 4 days, assisting antibiotic delivery into her blood stream.

She had been sick for past 7 days, eating sparingly, coughing for most of the time. Three days back doctor had announced she had pneumonia, needed minimum 5 day hospitalisation. Hospitalisation was not a choice, I wanted her to be at school for annual sports meet. Doctor had advised her complete bed rest. In 4 days of sickness, she had shown tremendous resilience. She had been cheerful off and on. She had rebelled against the illness, not letting it take her happiness away. She played and she hugged us whenever she could muster energy. I knew she will be better off at home than at hospital, she indeed was.

“Fighters don’t rest when challenged they just fight back”, I had told her, and she agreed and accepted to run the race.

Get Set Go… said the call, all the finalists dashed, so did my daughter. She was running for herself, not looking at others, not worried how she fared against her competitors. She ran, she coughed, and she was breathless. She was last but one to cross the finish line. She had not laid back, she had fought back.

I saw serenity on her face as she wandered in her own thoughts. She received standing ovation from students, teachers and parents, roar of claps and joy full screaming lasted a few minutes. She blushed, she looked at me with pride, perhaps too young to comprehend the enormity of situation.

“I am sad papa I lost the race”, she had told me, and “I would have won had I been fit.”

“You are the real winner, you did not give up when anyone else would have, it’s important to fight back when cornered”, I had explained. She slept four full hours with her face radiating pride, faith and grit. There is dignity in losing as well, was the lesson she had learnt.

Mission accomplished.