Fatherhood

At 11.00am on Aug-17 2005 I became the proud father of Danyal Sami Khan. Both Danyal and his mother had to work unbelievably hard for him to be born. She was in labor for 27 hours (the first 12 hours with zero medication) and eventually we had to make the decision to have a c-section. Tamy is my hero. She showed me the true meaning of character and courage and I will never forget what she went through and her determination and strength. It’s just confirmed what I knew; she’s an incredible person. I always knew she was outstanding, but this experience has literally blown me away. She may be gentle and petite but she’s a hell of a lot stronger and tougher than I’ll ever be.

As for Danyal, he struggled on the other end of the 27 hours of labor. When he was born, it was clear that he’d been working hard too. I was surprised by my reaction in the OR when they pulled him out of his mother. I was expecting to have some sort of instant connection with him as soon as I saw him, but for a few moments I even felt nervous at the thought of holding him. The minute that the nurse handed me this swaddled baby, my world changed. I looked at this small and incredibly vulnerable human being and knew immediately that he needed us and that our love, care and protection for him was all that mattered now. He’s so much more cute and adorable than I ever imagined. And all the fears I had about parenthood are gone. Nothing matters more than my son.

I’m finally a father (masha’allah) and I love it!