We came together, twenty years after the singular event that changed our 150 lives. The students of the Madras Medical College class of 1983 reunited to stop and reflect, and decide how we could give back to the College that made us who we are, a quarter of a century back. Gone was the fierce competitiveness of 2 decades ago. In it place was a quiet sense of achievement, a feeling of having found our individual places in the world, of having arrived. There was also a collective sense of pride in how far our classmates had come, in the strength of our talents - plastic and cardiac surgeons, orthopedics, gastroenterology, and anesthetists, every specialty represented and excelled at. Medical men and women, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, global citizens.
We re-lived the way we were; watched a video of ourselves at graduation and marveled at how young and cocky we were, how confidently we strode across the MMC campus armed with our degrees, and how much we learnt in the years since about how little we actually know. For a few hours we traveled down memory lane, forgetting first wrinkles and gray hair, ignoring early warnings of sagging bellies, we were young and could conquer the world again.
The next morning we woke to the news that a classmate had been tragically killed in an accident on his way home from the re-union. Added to the shock of this news was the pathos of the value of his medical knowledge at the end of a 20- year career…he called his wife to tell her he would not make it and say a last goodbye…
The world continues, life goes on, we return to our lives and patients, more somber and reflective. And we are left with these same questions always…
Dr. Humeira Badsha Medical Center, Dubai, UAE. Dubai +97143856009.
Dr. Humeira Badsha
Recipient, Patient’s Choice Award 2010, Massachusetts, USA
Dr. Humeira Badsha has over 16 years of experience as a Rheumatologist across three countries – the USA, Singapore and UAE. She trained at UCLA, California, and has worked and taught medical students and doctors at various schools and hospitals including Harvard, Tufts and UCLA. . She had been working in Dubai since 2005, having moved from her practice in Boston, MA.
American Board Certified Rheumatology 1997; re-certified 2007.
American Board Certified Internal Medicine 1995; re-certified 2005.
Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology (FACR).
Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Singapore (FAMS).
Vice Chairperson, and Founding Member, Emirates Arthritis Foundation.
2 comments:
Really sad, Lakshmi looked really happy.
What a sad end, May Lakshmi's soul rest in peace.
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