An anxious father was sitting outside an operation theatre apprehensive about the fate of his son who had met with a fatal accident. His son, lying unconscious inside and waiting for a surgeon to attend him. For the father, every moment seemed longer than a year, a whole eternity. Suddenly a doctor rushed towards the operation room while his assistants handed him over the white apron.
The father just could not control his anger and he started charging the doctor. “I am appalled to see how casual you can be! My son is lying in the operation table for so long and this is the time you could manage to come and attend him?” The doctor stared at the father and holding this shoulder gently, said, “This is the earliest I could reach. I was not in the hospital. Please don’t worry. Now please let me do my work and you take a seat there.”
The father became all the more furious and although the doctor went inside the theatre, he continued saying, “It all looks fine so long you don’t have to face the crisis. How easily you said not to worry! You doctors have no feelings at all!”
An hour went past. Still the red light outside the operation theatre was on. Three more hours went by; the father then began to think of all the nightmarish things that he might have to hear once the doctor concluded the marathon operation.
He looked up and suddenly realised that the light had gone off. The doctor came out of the room rushing as he handed over his apron to the nurse. Before the father could ask him anything, the doctor said, “Your son is fine now. Please talk to the nurse if you need to know anything more. Excuse me.” Before the father could ask him anything more, the doctor rushed away.
The father became furious again. He shouted at the nurse, “How arrogant! What does he think of himself? He has done no favour to me! It is his duty to serve his patients.”
The nurse requested him to calm down and said, “I’m sorry Sir for all the inconvenience you had. The surgeon who operated on your son was in the graveyard when we called him once your son was brought here. His son passed away last night. He has always been a man of strong principles and ethics. Before he could bid farewell to his son, he rushed here so that you don’t have to face what he is going through right now. Your son is out of danger. The doctor, before leaving, gave me all the necessary instructions.”
The classroom was still silent as professor Reddy began again after taking a small pause. “I sincerely want all of you to take a lesson from this story, the way I have. Even at an age of 52, I committed this costly mistake of jumping into a conclusion even before knowing the whole truth. I wonder how I could be so insensitive and cruel! Today my son is safe and by God’s grace, doing well because of the father who left his son in the burial to save mine. Whenever you remember this story, also remember the moral that it teaches. Never ever jump into any conclusion before you know the whole truth.”