Lifestyle

It happened during one of my shifts as a paramedic. The day had been grueling, and all I wanted was to stretch my aching, exhausted legs on a cot somewhere. But, as luck would have it, a fire broke out at a school in the Maykuduk district of Karaganda. At that moment, every other ambulance crew was tied up with calls, so it fell to me to respond. Meanwhile, a fierce blizzard was raging over the city… The radio crackled with news that during the fire, the school’s security guard had jumped from a third-floor window. Firefighters, rushing through the …

In the post-operative ward, four women lay in their beds, and as one of them remarked, they were all young retirees. They had recently left their jobs, passing their roles to younger colleagues. In a women-only ward, friendships form quickly, and soon everyone knew the ins and outs of their neighbors’ lives: who was in their families, what signature dishes they cooked, and all the usual women’s topics. They even discussed the visitors who came to see them. One visit was enough to reveal the dynamics of a family, but this ward was fortunate—no one could say a bad word …

When Emily was a child, a dog attacked her. It wasn’t just a minor bite—her leg was severely injured, her kneecap shattered beyond repair. The doctors were ready to amputate the limb, but thankfully, Dr. Margaret Thompson, a renowned surgeon, took charge. With her authority, she silenced even the overly confident head of the surgical department, who was adamant about amputation. Margaret, with fire in her voice, roared at him: — She’s only five years old! If you can’t do it yourself, don’t stop others! Piece by piece, shard by shard, she meticulously reconstructed Emily’s shattered kneecap. Yes, Emily limped …

The baby was left at the entrance of the orphanage, either at night or early in the morning. At night, the orphanage was locked. A duty officer stayed in the lobby, and nurses were stationed on each floor. Early in the morning, the janitor arrived to clean the grounds. Right after him came the kitchen staff. The orphanage also had a small dairy kitchen, which had taken years to establish, proving that preparing formula on-site was better for the infants. That morning, the janitor was the first to notice a bundle on the doorstep of the orphanage. He approached and …

My husband James and I desperately wanted children, but I couldn’t conceive. Doctors shrugged, insisting that both of us were perfectly fine reproductively. All we could do was hope, pray, and wait. Six years later, a miracle happened—our daughter was born, named Emma in honor of my late mother. When Emma was nine months old, she was diagnosed with celiac disease. Neither James nor I had ever heard of it. — It’s a hereditary condition caused by a permanent intolerance to gluten, or simply put, the protein in wheat, — the doctor explained. — It’s not the worst disease, but …