Dr Zainul Aabideen, with his patient, a 5-year-old Ugandan girl.
Abu Dhabi/Thiruvananthapuram :
A Malayali doctor in Abu Dhabi wrote himself into record books when he performed the first pediatric stem cell bone marrow transplant in the UAE.
Dr Zainul Aabideen, a native of Kannur in Kerala, presently Head of the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Burjeel Medical City successfully performed the advanced allogeneic procedure on a five-year-old girl from Uganda with sickle cell disease.
Billed as the first such surgery done in the UAE, the patient’s 10-year-old sister donated her bone marrow for the transplant treatment at Burjeel Medical City, a flagship hospital of VPS Healthcare.
Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder, which results in an abnormality in the hemoglobin found in red blood cells, causing them to become sickle-shaped and leading to several complications including anemia, swelling in the hands and feet, frequent pain, acute chest syndrome, and sometimes stroke.
Prior to the treatment, the child has been regularly admitted to the hospital due to complications arising from her disease since birth.
“As this was a life-threatening condition, the only curative option was bone marrow transplantation. Before this procedure, the patient suffered a lot. The entire care team here at the hospital and the child’s parents are delighted that the transplant will relieve this pain from her life,” said Zainul Aabideen, who headed a team of highly specialised doctors, including a pediatric intensive care team, for the procedure.
The patient has responded well to the treatment and will be discharged in a few days after a five-week stay at the hospital.
Earlier, pediatric patients in the UAE who had to undergo allogeneic stem cell bone marrow transplants travelled to the US, the UK, India, and other European countries.
Zainul Aabideen, completed his MBBS from Calicut University in Kerala and a post-graduate degree in Pediatrics from the University of Mumbai.
He then moved to the United Kingdom to specialise and undertake further training in pediatric hematology, pediatric oncology, and pediatric bone marrow transplantation in various hospitals in the UK.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz / Home> Health / by awazthevoice.in / April 20th, 2022
The book is a harrowing tale of a doctor’s ordeal and gives a compelling account of the tragic deaths of several children and the disturbing events that ensued.
Dr Kafeel Khan at a medical camp. Photo: Facebook/drkafeelkhanofficial
Gorakhpur:
The 2017 oxygen shortage tragedy at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College that led to the deaths of more than a hundred children was not a random accident but the outcome of the administration’s apathetic and insensitive attitude towards government hospitals. The aftermath of the incident also exposed how the government machinery, instead of learning from such horrific accidents, works to suppress the truth, protect the culprits and punish those who try to expose the reality.
The reportage on the oxygen fiasco meanwhile rendered it synonymous with the identity of Dr Kafeel Khan, who was then an assistant professor in the hospital’s Department of Paediatrics. The incident and the ensuing fate of Khan was widely reported in the media.
But what actually happened and who were the real culprits? Were they shielded by the powers that be? Those who knew the truth have either kept mum on the issue or have sided with the government’s narrative. The government has made claims like, “The hospital did have an oxygen crisis but that’s not what killed the children”, “The children died because they were gravely ill”, “Children die of encephalitis in July and August every year” and that the government and its ministers or senior officials cannot to be blamed for the deaths as the college administration was negligent. Khan, the government said, was solely responsible because he failed to inform his seniors about the oxygen crisis and had committed medical negligence and used to practice privately.
Khan was sacked last month , four years following the incident. Two doctors and four employees of BRD Medical College, who were also accused of negligence, have been reinstated. R.K. Mishra, who was the principal of the college at the time of the deaths, and Ppharmacist Gajanand Jaiswal have retired after being reinstated. Little is known of the whereabouts of Manish Bhandari, the owner of Pushpa Sales, the oxygen supplier, ever since he was released from jail.
The government did not compensate the families of the children who died in the tragedy, claiming that their deaths were not caused by oxygen shortage.
The terrible incident is no longer talked about, except when it is brought up in conjunction with news related to Dr Kafeel Khan.
Kafeel Khan The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor’s Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis Pan Macmillan (December 2021)
Recently, Khan’s 300-page book titled The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor’s Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis was published by Pan Macmillan India, reinvigatoring a discussion on the deaths.
In the book, Khan describes a series of incidents beginning on the dreadful night when the hospital ran out of oxygen to the day of his arrest, subsequent imprisonment and his dismissal from service more than four years later. The book not only weaves together the scattered strands of information surrounding the oxygen shortage tragedy of the BRD Medical College on August 10, 2017 but also brings to the fore many new facts which remained unknown till now.
The oxygen fiasco was reported in both national and international media. While it is true that the incident remained in the news a long time afterwards, most of these speculations only went on to further mystify and blur the facts instead of providing clarity. The book tries to blow the lid off the attempts to conceal the truth behind the incident in a ‘calculated manner’ and uncovers the system’s attempts to make a doctor the scapegoat to cover up its failure.
The book also highlights various aspects of Khan’s personal life. We come to know that his father was an engineer in the irrigation department. Kafeel Khan was brought up in an open-minded atmosphere and spent his early days in a locality where residents hailed from different religious backgrounds. They celebrated Holi as zealously as Eid. On Diwali, he narrates, his family received many sweets from their Hindu neighbours which he would carry in his school tiffin for an entire week.
From his family, the story quickly progresses to the events of August 10, 2017. On the fateful night, Khan received a WhatsApp message on his mobile about depleting oxygen levels in the encephalitis ward. He was on leave that day as his sister was visiting the family from Oman and he wanted to spend time with her. But when he received the message, he decided to immediately go to the hospital. On his way, he kept calling his superiors at the medical college. While most of his calls went unanswered, those who did pick up failed to grasp the gravity of the situation and tried to pass the buck.
In his book, Khan gives telling details of the situation he witnessed in the ward that night and how he handled it. He describes the wailing and pleading parents while their children battled for life and the utter helplessness of the doctors, nurses and ward boys. There were 313 children admitted in the hospital’s pediatric and neonatal intensive care units that night. At 7:30 pm, the oxygen plant had run out of oxygen and the ventilators began sounding the warning beeps. As a contingency arrangement, 52 jumbo cylinders kept in the hospital reserve were installed, which were exhausted within four hours and the oxygen supply was completely cut off to the wards, including the encephalitis ward. By the time Khan reached the hospital, eight children had already died.
He and his colleagues immediately started giving oxygen from Ambu bags to the children on ventilator support. The condition of all the children in the ward was assessed and oxygen from Ambu bags was given to those who needed oxygen the most. A three-year-old girl’s condition deteriorated and despite the staff’s best efforts, could not be saved. The NICU witnessed similar chaotic scenes. The relatives of the patients, who had been informed about the lack of oxygen, were either yelling at the hospital staff or begging them to save their children.
Meanwhile Khan was faced with the dual challenge of treating the deteriorating condition of the children, on one hand, and arranging for oxygen cylinders on the other. A truck carrying a jumbo cylinder was on its way from Imperial Gas Limited in Faizabad but there was no sign of it until 1 am. Till then, no senior officer of the BRD Medical College had reached the hospital. In their absence, Khan decided to fetch three jumbo cylinders from a nearby hospital in his private vehicle. He then approached eight more hospitals for help, ferried as many cylinders as he could arrange and tried to replenish the oxygen supply. But it was not enough. The encephalitis ward was consuming 16 jumbo cylinders every 45 minutes. The truck that arrived from IGL Faizabad at 2 am brought only 50 cylinders. Kafeel arranged for a truck with the help of central oxygen operator Balwant, and sent an outsourced worker to the Khalilabad plant paying Rs 20,000 from his own pocket. The oxygen plant had agreed to supply jumbo cylinders at Rs 350 per cylinder.
Despite being informed of the urgent need for oxygen, a plant in Gida refused to supply oxygen saying that its contract with the college had been terminated and handed over to IGL Faizabad. It would supply oxygen only after the contract has been renewed, the plant said.
Despite Khan and his team’s night-long efforts to save the children and arrange cylinders, 23 children in the PICU and NICU and 18 adult patients in the medicine ward had succumbed by 10 am the next day.
A room containing oxygen tanks is seen in the BRD Medical College and Hospital in Gorakhpur. Photo: Reuters
When there was a shortage of vehicles to cart the jumbo cylinders, Khan reached out to the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) stationed in the Fertilizer Campus on the morning of August 11 and contacted the DIG to provide a truck and cylinders. The SSB did not have jumbo cylinders, but they provided a truck and 12 jawans so that cylinders could be swiftly transported from the plant to the medical college.
According to the details in the book, on the afternoon of August 11, the then district magistrate Rajiv Rautela contacted Khan and after being apprised of the whole situation assured that oxygen would be provided. He asked the Gida plant, which had earlier refused to entertain Kafeel’s request, to supply oxygen. Later, 50 jumbo cylinders arrived from IGL Faizabad in two trips. Kafeel also contacted the chief medical officer and the additional director (health), urging them to help solve the crisis. One said he was in a meeting and the other asked Khan to contact the chief medical superintendent regarding the arrangement of cylinders. One of these officers later became part of the committee that was formed to investigate the tragedy.
In the afternoon, a professor from the Department of Paediatrics reached the ward followed by the head of the department and the chief medical superintendent of the Nehru Hospital. Together, they wrote a letter to the principal of the BRD Medical College, urging him to arrange medical oxygen.
By the evening of August 11, the news of children dying due to oxygen shortage had spread like wildfire and media persons began pouring in at the BRD Medical College. By then, a few local journalists and photographers had already reached the College and began reporting on the crisis. The district magistrate issued the first official statement about the incident in a press conference at 7:30 pm that day and announced the formation of a committee to investigate the deaths. This committee was asked to submit its report within 24 hours.
Initially, the reports in media and on social media hailed Kafeel as a hero for his efforts to muster up oxygen cylinders using his personal resources and save the lives of children. On August 12, the state health minister Siddharth Nath Singh and medical education minister Ashutosh Tandon reached the college. Singh, in a press conference, denied the death of any child due to lack of oxygen and made the insensitive ‘children die every year in August‘ remark. The statement was widely condemned.
On August 13, a tanker of liquid oxygen arrived at the hospital at 1 am and the supply was restored. Kafeel, who had tirelessly spent 48 hours on rigorous duty since August 10, finally returned home only to wake up to a fresh twist the next morning. A new tale had been spun and a fresh narrative was played out in the media.
In the morning, J.P. Nadda and chief minister Yogi Adityanath arrived at the BRD Medical College and Khan was summoned. He reached the hospital hoping to receive a pat on the back for his efforts but he was in for a rude shock and suddenly found himself in the crosshairs.
According to Khan, the moment he appeared before the chief minister, he said in a reprimanding tone, “Tu hai Dr Kafeel Khan?” (So, you are Dr Kafeel Khan?)
“Yes, Sir.”
“Tune cylinder ka arrangement kiya tha?” (Are you the one who arranged cylinders?)
“Yes, Sir.”
“Ye 4-5 cylinder la kar tu ne kitni jaan bacha li? Tu sochta hai cylinders ki vyvastha kar ke tu bohot bara hero ban gaya; dekhta hoon tujhe.” (How many lives did you save with a few cylinders? Do you think by arranging cylinders you became a hero? I will take care of you.)”
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Photo: PTI
Khan was suddenly the villain, accused of leaking the news of oxygen shortage to the media. However, when he tried to speak up and provide a clarification, senior officers stopped him from doing so.
In the press conference, the chief minister dismissed the claim that the children died owing to a dearth of oxygen. He announced the formation of a committee headed by the chief secretary to probe the incident and said that its report would be submitted in a week.
As soon as the press conference was over, media persons flocked the hospital of Khan’s wife. A mob also attacked the hospital and a showroom owned by Khan’s brother, pelting stones and vandalising them. On social media, Khan was vilified as an ‘oxygen thief’, and a ‘pawn of the opposition leaders’. The TV news channels began referring to him as the head of the paediatric department, the deputy principal, the superintendent of the hospital, blaming him entirely for the disaster.
Khan was advised to take leave until the turmoil subsided. On August 16, the report of the committee constituted by the DM was submitted, which did not fix the responsibility on Khan but also failed to mention, let alone laud Khan’s efforts to arrange oxygen cylinders at such a critical time.
Finally, on August 21, the report of the committee headed by the chief secretary came out and an FIR was lodged against nine people, including Khan and everyone was gradually arrested.
The police began raiding his house daily, making searches and harassing the family members. His sister’s house in Lucknow was also raided and his brother was taken into custody. He decided to surrender and finally did so at the Special Task Force office in Lucknow. The STF brought him to Gorakhpur and handed him over to the Gorakhpur police, who put him in jail.
The next few pages of the book record a horrendous account of Khan’s seven-month long stay in jail – an 800-prisoner facility with 1,897 prisoners in it.
In jail, he met several high-profile prisoners – Kaka, D. Ram, V. Singh, Shailesh, Vishwa and also ‘Mantriji’ who is serving a life sentence for the murder of a poetess. Most of them showed Khan kindness. Despite all the media propaganda, they treated him with respect for being a good Samaritan and responsible doctor who tried to save the lives of children. Khan writes that most of the undertrial prisoners spend long periods in jail in the hope of being freed or granted bail but 99% of them are met with disappointment as cases remain in limbo for years.
Khan also details a first-hand account of corruption inside the prison walls. Any prisoner can avail the facilities that he can afford. Under this covert system, rates are fixed for kachchi baithki and pakki baithki – levels of evading laborious chores in jail. Then there are rates of bidi, cigarette, vegetables, eggs, bottled water as well as meeting with relatives. To avail such luxuries, one has to keep one’s mouth shut – besides abiding by the other rules. Based on hierarchy of caste, religion, connections and nature of crime, the dark underbelly of the prison is governed by a handful prisoners.
While awaiting bail, Khan tried to piece together the episodes of the oxygen tragedy. From jail, he contacted everyone including Manish Bhandari, the director of Pushpa Sales, the college principal Mishra, and Dr Satish. Finally, he saw the whole picture. He learnt that both the Gida gas plant, which had refused to supply oxygen to the hospital despite being aware of the deaths of children, as well as IGL Faizabad with which the hospital had signed a contract in 2017, had close relations with the ruling party leaders. Also, Khan claims, Pushpa Sales had not only failed to pay the dues to the top officials of health and administration but also to line the pockets of various ministers, a matter which was brought up in several official meetings. Hence, the authorities behaved in a lackadaisical manner while the children were gasping for breath. Later, a hunt was launched for ‘a neck to fit the noose’ and a communal government found Khan as the perfect scapegoat, he says.
Dr Kafeel Khan, after his release from jail. Photo: @Saurabhsherry/Irfan Ghazi.
The final section of the book describes Khan’s ordeal after his release from jail, various charges levelled against him and his re-arrest. He was arrested from the Bahraich district hospital, where he had gone to investigate the death of children admitted for encephalitis. Later, charges under the National Security Act were slapped on him for a speech he had delivered during an anti-CAA-NRC protest at the Aligarh Muslim University. He was released after the Allahabad high court quashed the NSA charges.
However, despite getting a clean chit on two key charges in the departmental inquiry of the oxygen shortage incident, he was sacked. The book has several more details. An entire chapter is dedicated to his rural health campaign, under which he organised medical camps, especially creating awareness about encephalitis, locally known as chamki fever, in various flood-affected parts of Bihar and Assam.
source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Book> Rights / by Manoj Singh / December 19th, 2021
Dr Saheer Sainalabdeen posing with Mohammad Rizwan’s jersey. (Special Arrangement, Twitter/ShoaibAkhtar)
The attending pulmonologist, Dr Saheer Sainalabdeen, originally from Thiruvananthapuram, said Mohammad Rizwan was critical at the time he was admitted in Dubai’s Medeor Hospital.
It was a race against time. Two days before his team’s T20 World Cup semifinal against Australia, Pakistan’s wicket-keeper opener Mohammad Rizwan, after complaining of severe chest pain, was in the ICU unit of Medeor Hospital near Burjuman in Dubai.
The attending pulmonologist, Dr Saheer Sainalabdeen, originally from Thiruvananthapuram, says Rizwan was critical at the time he was admitted. Under the Indian doctor’s care, Pakistan’s key player recovered in time for the game.
He didn’t just make it to the playing XI, he also made a gritty 67, helping his team post a formidable score in the match that Australia narrowly won. Despite the heartbreaking loss, Rizwan, 29, remembered to acknowledge the efforts put in by the good doctor. As a token of gratitude, he sent across a team shirt, autographed by the Pakistan players.
Speaking to The Sunday Express at his chambers, Dr Saheer credited the quick recovery to Rizwan’s “willpower”.
In ICU for 35 hours
“He was in the ICU for 35 hours. He had a fever for three-four days, but he was Covid negative. Then (two days before the match), he had severe chest pain, enough to make him gasp,” Dr Saheer said.
The 40-year-old doctor said he initially suspected a heart problem, but tests ruled that out. “Actually, due to infection, spasms had blocked Rizwan’s esophagus (food pipe) and trachea (windpipe), resulting in chest pain. His condition was critical.”
Going into the match, Rizwan was not 100%, but managed to score 67 in 52 balls, getting out only in the 18th over of the Pakistan innings. He returned to keep the wickets and took a sharp catch of the in-form Australian opener David Warner, who seemed to be running away with the game.
During a break in the game, Pakistan’s batting coach, former Aussie batsman Mathew Hayden, had revealed to the host broadcaster that Rizwan had been in hospital a day earlier.
“I am a big fan of this batting line-up, they have performed superbly right through with the bat all along, and tonight is no exception. Rizwan was in hospital a night ago, suffering from a bronchitis condition, but this is a warrior… He has great courage, so has Babar (Azam), fantastic to see them combine so well,” Hayden said.
Among those who applauded Rizwan’s drive and commitment was Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin . “Can you imagine this guy played for his country today & gave his best. He was in the hospital last two days. Massive respect @iMRizwanPak. Hero,” posted Pakistan great Shoaib Akhtar.
Dr Saheer recalled Rizwan was desperate to play. “Whenever we spoke, he told me, ‘Play I must, I have to be with the team’. He was given an injection before leaving the hospital (a day before the game) and then, two hours before the start of the match, he took medicines. I allowed him to play only because he was medically fit to play,” the doctor said.
Dr Saheer said, Rizwan and his Pakistani teammates wanted to visit him personally to thank him, but biosecurity protocol didn’t allow them to do so. “He said, ‘Ek shirt bhej rahe hain aapko (Sending you an autographed team shirt)’.”
While happy at the gift, Dr Saheer said he was happier at Rizwan’s recovery. “It was down to his willpower. I have never seen a person with such strong willpower. He was weak but his willpower trumped the illness.”
Recalling the challenge, he added: “An illness that usually takes about a week to heal was taken care of inside two days… He had a big game coming up, so it was my duty to walk the extra mile, leave no stone unturned and then see how it goes. When he was admitted to the ICU, I never thought it would be possible. But he responded very well to the treatment, followed our advice in toto and pulled off something unreal.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Cricket / by Shamik Chakrabarty, Dubai / November 14th, 2021
The young doctor arranges transport for those living in remote areas, holds regular health camps, reports Pranab Mondal.pix
West Bengal :
As a junior doctor at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, Dr Golam Ahmed Kibria became overwhelmed by the heart-wrenching ordeals of the underprivileged patients admitted here. “After joining the service, I saw how the poor had to suffer after a nationwide lockdown was announced last year to reach the state-run hospital in Burdwan. Many failed to turn up at the hospital because they couldn’t arrange for vehicles,” said Dr Kibria.
Witnessing these unfortunate circumstances reminded him of a line from the customary oath that medical students take: “I solemnly pledge myself to consecrate my life to the service of humanity.” So Dr Kibria decided to start doorstep healthcare services for the marginalised. After his duty hours, he would organise free health camps in remote pockets of the district and even distribute free medicines.
“In a camp at Memari held on last October 4, I saw a three-and-a-half-year-old child suffering from frequent convulsions and his illiterate parents were helpless. I immediately made all arrangements to get the child admitted to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital where it was detected that he was suffering from Sturge-Weber Syndrome, a rare congenital neurological and skin disorder.” The child was discharged after he recovered.
Dr Golam Ahmed Kibria (in white tee) with underprivileged patients.
In another camp, a woman in her early 60s turned up. “She was not in a position to move because of severe orthopaedic disease. Her family said they had gone door-to-door of rural hospitals but none could cure her. The orthopaedic surgeons at our hospitals identified the exact problem and gave her proper treatment,” he said.
Dr Kibria hails from Mohabbatpur village, Malda, which means a ‘hamlet/town of love’. His act of serving the poor reflects the meaning of his ancestral village’s name. He is the first male in his village to have cracked the medical entrance examination. “Treating patients with different ailments is not possible as a junior doctor. But I ensure their transport to the district hospital with the help of my colleagues, so that needy patients get speedy treatment and necessary pathological tests done,” said Dr Kibria, who organises two free health camps every month.
Realising he needs more man-power to serve the poor, Dr Kibria recently set up a welfare organisation called Prayas. It has 163 members and over 160 doctors. “We also provide rations and financial support to get daughters of poor families married off. Helping every poor person is beyond our capacity. But we try to reach the families who are in deep distress. We have already spent over `11 lakh for this purpose,” he said.
The 26-year-old doctor and his team even reached the areas ravaged by Cyclone Yash in West Bengal. “We held many camps in the affected areas and distributed free medicines. I do it all for the people of my country as my duty,” Dr Kibria signs off.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Pranab Mondal, Express News Service / November 07th, 2021
Jammu & Kashmir, INDIA / London, UNITED KINGDOM (UK):
A Kashmir-born Muslim doctor scrubbed up alongside an Israeli team to help a Jewish family was a reminder of the universal nature of medicine: Dr. Noor Ul Owase Jeelani.
Jerusalem:
A world-renowned Indian-origin pediatric neurosurgeon in the UK has helped a group of Israeli doctors to successfully operate on a pair of twins conjoined at the head, with the babies now likely to lead normal lives, a media report here said.
This is for the first time that Dr. Noor Ul Owase Jeelani, who was born in Kashmir and works at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, agreed to carry out such a surgery outside the UK when contacted by doctors at Israel’s Soroka hospital, according to a report in The Times of Israel (TOI).
He and his colleague, Professor David Dunway, are globally seen as experts on such cases.
Jeelani said, “from a doctor’s point of view, we’re all one” and that medicine transcends all divisions.
“He said that the fact that a Kashmir-born Muslim doctor scrubbed up alongside an Israeli team to help a Jewish family was a reminder of the universal nature of medicine,” the report quoted him as saying.
“It was a fantastic family that we helped,” Jeelani said, adding, as I’ve said all my life, all children are the same, whatever colour or religion”.
“The distinctions are man-made. A child is a child. From a doctor’s point of view, we’re all one,” he emphasised.
The doctor found the family’s delight at the success of the operation “deeply moving”.
“There was this very special moment when the parents were just over the moon. I have never in my life seen a person smile, cry, be happy, and be relieved at the same time. The mother simply couldn’t believe it, we had to pull up a chair to help her to calm down,” Jeelani told the news portal.
Jeelani is said to have also worked for months on the surgery of the Israeli twins.
“We’ve been involved right from the start, talking to the team in Israel and planning it with them over a period of six months,” he said.
“This latest surgery fulfills a key objective of our charity, namely, to empower local teams abroad to undertake this complex work, successfully utilising our experience, knowledge, and skills gained over the past 15 years with our previous four sets of twins,” the neurosurgeon stressed.
It is also a major achievement for the medical team at Israel’s Soroka hospital that managed this complex operation despite having never performed such a surgery.
It involved complicated on-the-spot decisions regarding which blood vessel to give to which twin, and assessing in real-time the impact that immediate decisions were having on the functioning of the brains, the report said.
Jeelani has performed four other such surgeries on twins who were conjoined at the head with fused skulls, intertwined brains, and shared blood vessels.
His involvement with conjoined twins started in 2017 when a neurosurgeon from Peshawar, Pakistan, asked him to operate on identical conjoined twins, Safa and Marwa, born three months earlier to a woman from rural northern Pakistan.
He raised the money for the surgery from a Pakistani oil trader called Murtaza Lakhani and, with Dunaway, successfully performed the operation after hundreds of hours of preparation.
Following the success, he went on to establish Gemini Untwined, a nonprofit organisation, to plan and perform such operations, the report said.
source: http://www.freepressjournal.in / The Free Press Journal / Home> World / by PTI / September 13th, 2021
Serving the people of the UAE as a doctor for the last three decades has been a feeling of unconditional love for Dr Saleema Wani.
The greatest treasure for me as a doctor in the UAE, has been to witness babies born at my hands, go on to become mothers and fathers themselves!
During my three-decade’ plus journey in the UAE, I have been at hand to see generation after generation bring in beautiful children into this world.
I remember holding the hands of a young mother giving birth to her daughter. And then years later, holding the hands of her daughter as she gave birth to her two children.
And to think that when I landed here with my husband on April 15, 1989, I thought I would be spending probably a year or two, before returning to my home country.
The second day after landing in the UAE from Kashmir, I began work as a junior doctor at the Corniche Hospital in Abu Dhabi. Interestingly, when I arrived here, I had still not resigned from my previous role. I had planned on staying here for a few years, before returning to my home country. Little did I know then that those ‘few years’ would extend into a ‘few decades’ — thirty-two years to be precise.
In those years, I have walked in and out of the hospital day in and day out. There were times when I was extremely tired and desolate, as life kept marching ahead, but I could not give up. I was on a mission, with little time to spare!
When I think about leaving the UAE, it is hard to imagine. It is hard to leave a country when it feels like home and you are surrounded by family — not only your own blood, but the many who have become my extended family here — thanks to my profession.
I have served two generations of mothers, and today I am helping those women born through my hands, give birth to new babies! Many of them still call me up and ask for my advice, and treat me as if I were their second mother. How could I possibly leave my children behind?
When I look at these mothers, I see that while so many changes have taken place in the UAE over the last three decades — be it socio-economic change or in other aspects, two things have re mained constant — the values and traditions instilled in Emiratis and expats by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan. The second is the weather! And while not much can be said about the weather, it is fair to say that it was these values and traditions of love and patronage showered by families and elders, that made me feel like I was at home — just like a member of each of their families. It gives me comfort knowing my two sons Mohammed and Ammar are never going to be alone.
Raising two sons whilst working as a doctor, being a wife, and earning qualifications all at once was not easy. But how could I not upskill when the path was paved for me through the pragmatic and visionary leadership of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Our Nation’s Mother Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union (GWU), President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF).
Sheikh Zayed once said: “No matter how many buildings, foundations, schools and hospitals we build, or how many bridges we raise, all these are material entities. The real spirit behind the progress is the human spirit, able man with his intellect and capabilities.”
This particular quote resonates deeply with me. It inspired me to work on my growth in order to remain abreast with the latest technological advancements, as well as give back to the community by assuming several teaching and mentoring roles in the education sector.
Erich Fromm once wrote that: “People who manage to learn to love in a mature and conscious way understand that love isn’t possession nor conditions. Love is a caring and firm desire to promote the growth of all those people we love.”
Simply put, serving the people of this country as a doctor for the last three decades has been a feeling of unconditional love for me. As I reflect on my time in this country, and the years to come, I feel that life is not about us doing what we love; rather, we need to love what we do.
source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> Year of the 50th / by Dr Saleema Wani / July 29th, 2021
