A Son, A Surgeon, A Sad Ending

In the heart of Iraq, in a time when chaos and war were constant visitors, lived a man known not only for his intellect, but for his unwavering devotion to humanity. Dr. Mehdi was a celebrated surgeon — brilliant, calm under pressure, and known for performing complex operations with the steady hands of a master. Patients and fellow doctors alike admired him. He was, in every sense, a lifeline for many who had no other hope.

But Dr. Mehdi was more than just a healer. He was a son — a deeply loving, respectful, and devoted one. His mother was the center of his universe. She had raised him with strength and warmth, even when times were hard. She believed in him when no one else did. Every degree, every patient he saved, every praise he earned — he always credited her. "She gave me life, and I try to give it back to others," he once told a student.

Life, however, has a cruel way of testing even the most resilient souls.

One fateful evening, amidst the backdrop of a city rattled by bombings and curfews, Dr. Mehdi’s world began to fall apart. His mother collapsed in their home. A sudden medical emergency — some say a ruptured appendix, others believe it was internal bleeding — demanded immediate surgery. Time was critical.

He rushed her to the hospital, hoping to find a fellow surgeon, someone he could trust with the one person he could never risk losing. But there was no one. The war had drained the hospital of its senior staff. Most of the surgeons were away handling mass casualties elsewhere. He was the only one available.

He stood in the hallway outside the operating theatre, torn between two worlds: that of a surgeon trained to act swiftly and precisely, and that of a son paralyzed by fear. But he made the choice he believed was right — he would operate on her himself.

Doctors are trained to separate emotion from action. They are taught to treat the body, not the person. But when that body belongs to your own mother, the rules begin to blur. Every incision he made felt like it cut into his own soul. Nurses assisting him later said they had never seen such intense concentration mixed with visible pain.

The surgery lasted for hours. Dr. Mehdi did everything he could — every stitch, every procedure done with trembling care. But fate was cruel that day. Despite his efforts, his mother’s heart gave out. She was gone.

For a moment, no one moved. The room stood frozen. The silence was louder than any scream. Dr. Mehdi just stared at her body. The hands that had saved so many lives were now covered in the blood of the one life he could not save.

He removed his gloves slowly, as if each movement hurt more than the last. He walked out of the operating room and sat on a bench outside. Hours passed, but he didn’t move. When someone finally approached him, he looked up with empty eyes and said, “I killed her.”

From that day forward, the world never saw the same Dr. Mehdi again.

He vanished from the hospital, from his career, and from the life he once knew. Word spread that he had suffered a complete mental breakdown. Some say he wandered the hospital corridors for days, calling out to his mother. Others claim he left medicine forever and began roaming the streets, dirty, unshaven, muttering to himself, asking strangers if they had seen her.

Children whispered stories of seeing “the doctor who went mad” sitting in the park, speaking to the wind. Some said he believed his mother was still alive, that he was still searching for the right medicine to bring her back. Others believed he was reliving the surgery again and again, trying to find where he went wrong.

No one knows exactly where Dr. Mehdi is now. Some say he lives quietly in a small town, looked after by people who remember who he once was. Others think he still walks the streets of Baghdad, lost in memories.

But even in his silence, his story speaks volumes. It’s not just a tale of mental illness or a tragic ending — it’s a story about the impossible weight doctors sometimes carry. It’s a reminder that beneath the scrubs and surgical masks are human beings, with hearts that can break, and love that can undo even the strongest minds.

Dr. Mehdi’s story is often passed down among medical students, not as a cautionary tale, but as a lesson in humanity. In the end, he wasn’t just a doctor. He was a son — one who tried to do the impossible, and paid the price with his mind.