By  Dr. Mahjabeen Islam
Toledo, Ohio

December 22, 2006

A Tribute to Serenity

Some of us are known by our multiple traits. Others by only one. Dottie Hussain stands out in my memory as serenity personified.
I remember the very first time that I saw her and how struck I was; by her almost perfect face, her translucent skin and most of all her demeanor. She carried herself with a grace that was regal. And with the dapper good looks of Amjad, they were quite the couple. My mother said so aptly: “the couple always emanated peace and love”.
Friends and family had traveled from across the nation for her surprise 60th birthday a couple years ago. Colleagues from her early years of work were there too.
And it is not really her death, but that of all who mourn her. The one who dies is delivered, the survivors must deal with the endless taskmaster this life can be.
That cancer, that terrible thief, could take her from our midst at such a young age is numbing to me. And yet as her life was a fulfilled and productive one, her passage to the other world can be called a “quality death”. She had Thanksgiving dinner with her family and as the angry scourge took a hold of her body, hospice rose to the occasion and managed her pain seamlessly.
As the disease got angrier, she guessed that Christmas would not be celebrated in the flesh. The oldest son Waqar works in London and was to arrive at 6:30pm. She knew her time was near. In and out of consciousness, she kept verifying the time. He came and she hugged all the family. And then with the serenity that typified her life, she showed us that one can waltz into the next one with amazing grace.
With love and a heavy heart,
Mahjabeen Islam

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Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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