8 Years on Twitter!

It was this day, way back in 2009 when I had joined Twitter, without having an idea on what I've got myself into. I had no idea back then, that this platform would have such an impact on me.

It started off as mean to communicate and interact with people having similar interests and it still continues to be that, along with a lot of other things.

These 8 years have been instrumental in shaping me; in ways I've could have never imagined. It has shaped my thought process in a certain way that I'm fond of. It has made me question a lot of things and the way we approach things. It has been my go to place whenever I've been wanting to vent out something. It listened to me, always.

Twitter has also been pivotal in two of my jobs, something that I never thought would be possible. The frequency, engagement and the kind of content I shared there help me get those.

It has also helped me realize a lot of things in general. I've become more patient with people. I've learnt that people will have different opinions and you got to respect that. I've realized there's good and bad in everyone and one needs to ignore the bad and appreciate the good. I've realized you should express yourself without the fear of being ridiculed. I've realized people sitting miles away from you can make you feel better.

I've met some people with whom I've shared some beautiful memories. I haven't met quite a lot of them yet I feel there's a connection.

All in all, Twitter has made me who I am today and it would be wrong on my part to not give it its due credit.

Thank you, Twitter.

Visapur Trek- An experience added in the job profile called Life!

Kicked off the trekking season with a hike to the Visapur Fort.

You can click here for a detailed version of the blog too!

Got lost on the ascent, made our way through waterfalls, slippery dirt paths, rocks, boulders, thorny shrubs and a thick tricky portion of woods that tested our limits. Made friends with a group of people who helped us and whom we helped in whatever way we could. 

We finally found our way after circumventing the entire hill and made our way to the top where we were greeted with periodic assaults by torrential rains and heavy winds. Trust us, those rains combined with super strong winds tested us in ways we couldn't imagine. You know, there's an unwritten rule of trekking, always help when you can and everyone seemed to follow it. We helped people, people helped us, people helped people. It was such an amazing feeling. 

Climbing down from the summit was the toughest part, and after some memorable falls, spills, few cuts, and photo shoots, we reached the base with a thankful heart. We've been to treks earlier and each of them has given us a different experience. This was probably the most difficult trek we had been too, but it was an experience none of us could ever forget. We have some bruises and some kick-ass stories that make this journey called life a pleasant one. 

I've always believed in living a life full of experiences and I'll continue doing so in whichever way possible. Life is meant to be lived and experienced. It isn't meant to go by the preconceived notions of people. 

Thank you, Taha Ansari and Zeeshan Hasware for an amazing trip.

I'm already up for our next trip and I'm sure you are too, so let's roll? 

- Written in collaboration with Zeeshan Hasware

To Eman...to humanity!

Life is weird, funny, random and unpredictable to say the least. It was one of those unpredictable days in life. Each day brings out something you didn’t expect at all and something similar happened today. One of my friends was admitted to Saifee hospital and I’ve been wanting to visit him since the last couple of days, but couldn’t due to work commitments (I know I need to work on my priorities).

I finally managed to take a half day and reached Saifee hospital that seemed to be a bit noisy for a hospital or maybe more than a bit. A mention of Eman by some staff members made me realize what the whole commotion was all about. Eman who was treated at Saifee was leaving.

Eman Ahmed (formerly the world’s heaviest woman who used to weigh 500 kg before she got operated in India) was on her way to Mumbai International Airport. She was flying out of the country with her sister Shaima.

Must say, even amidst all the crowd that was pouring in to see Eman, she was protected and safely escorted out of the hospital with heavy security including police personnel.

The team treating her has done a commendable job with not only her treatment, but also her security at every phase despite the heavy sensationalisation that has been happening off late. I was surprised to see such a smooth transfer of Eman despite all the challenges…I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me a proper drill and practice was done for this kind of transfer.

The kind of protection given kind of restored my faith in our systems and doctors; being capable of handling such cases. It was pleasing to see, to say the least. In a public hospital like Saifee, one cannot stop people from coming in, so despite all of that, Eman was safely transferred to the airport.

All of this made me feel real bad for our doctors. Despite doing things to ensure our safety and ensuring we have better lives, we treat them so badly. We point fingers at them, we judge them, we name call them, we do whatever we can to bring them down. The recent incident where a doctor was beaten up badly, injuring his eye terrible is a fine example of how badly we treat them. We need to start realizing they’re humans and they do whatever they can within their scope to make us happy.

 And yeah, my friend is doing fine. He will be discharged in a couple of days.

He’s fine. Eman is better. Humanity exists….and my day ends on a good note. 

Save Eman...a lost cause??

For over a month, I have been hearing about the case of the world’s heaviest woman – Eman Ahmed. If you guys don’t know about her yet, here are a few facts about her:

- Eman Ahmed from Egypt was earlier the heaviest woman in the world, weighing 500 kg at age 36

- She was in urgent need of medical aid & her sister Shaimaa Ahmed, had reached out to several doctors across the globe over the last couple of years for medical guidance.

- In October 2016, Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala, a surgeon from India took the initiative to reach out and help.

- Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala, is a leading laparoscopic surgeon, specializing in bariatric surgery and GI oncology surgery.

- Eman’s case different and complex, she was a high risk patient who had already suffered a stroke resulting in paralysis of her right arm and leg, she can’t speak, has type 2 diabetes, hypertension and a lot of other complexities.

- Eman’s transfer to India was not an easy one as a special flight had to be chartered to bring her here from Alexandria.

- The doctor’s team successfully brought her to Mumbai on Feb 11.

Since then she has been under treatment at Saifee Hospital with a special team of doctors assigned to her care. She underwent a Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy on March 7 and now weighs 176.6 kg and that’s a fabulous thing and a huge achievement in my opinion!

It is a miraculous recovery I would say, from a point of no hope to a much better state. It’s also heartening to see Eman’s current pictures where she’s smiling and looking much better than before.

However off late, it’s really shocking to see the allegations made on the doctor even after his great initiative to save Eman. 

The medical fraternity has come out in support of him and even Health Minister Dr. Deepak Sawant praised Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala’s efforts and also tweeted about it.

You can read his tweets on this link: https://twitter.com/drdeepaksawant 

This case makes us believe in miracles but also because of some great people we call doctors. Let’s hope Eman leads a better life now on and keeps smiling.

Feel free to tell me what you think.