Life is God’s gift to you.
The way you live your life is your gift to God.

– Leo Buscaglia

 Toronto – March 8, 2015.

It was 3 years ago, on March 8, 2012, when I was in the Intensive Care Unit at Toronto General Hospital.   3 years ago, when my hemoglobin count had dropped to a dangerously low 36 due to acute hyper hemolytic anemia. Three years ago, when the doctors gave me a 50% chance of making it through the night.  3 years ago, when my body had created antibodies to reject new blood.  Three years ago, when Dr. Christine Cserti and her team worked all night to find the right blood match.  The situation was tense.  The odds against me.  The doctors said that if my body rejected the blood, my organs would fail, one by one.  There was no plan B.

My family vacillated between encouraging me to fight for my life, literally, while on the other hand, contemplating getting the lay ministers to administer last rights.  Nagib, Shayne, Sabrina, Afzal and Alia Sunderji stayed up all night at the hospital, supporting me and each other.  We all  prayed as the blood dripped into my body, ever so slowly, under the watchful eye of the nurse.  First one bag, which we affectionately named “Mr. Bean”.  Then the second bag, “Dexter”  The third bag we christened, “Edward Cullen”. And finally bag 4, “Popat”. It was Popat power, the last bag, that pushed my hemoglobin to 91 by 1 pm, the next day.  Let it be known that Shayne has decided to name his first-born, Popat, in honour of this miracle!  In between solemn prayers, I understand that I took a moment to serenade Nagib with the love song, “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps!”  Obviously I was on a high dose of steroids or perhaps I was just  being a drama queen!

The next day, Dr, Cserti came to look for me.  It was the first time I met the doctor that saved my life that fateful night.  Dr. Cserti was astounded to find me sitting on my bed, complete with my iPad.  She said she expected to find a really sick patient given what she had heard  about my very critical condition the night before.   She told me that it was a miracle that they were able to find the right blood with the exact antibodies to combat my Y and C antibodies.  Generally, this type of matching  takes 6 to 8 hours as the blood bank has to screen for 20 different variables.  With God’s grace, they were able to find the exact match from 4 different blood donors within a short tIme.  The wrong blood match would have been catastrophic and resulted in death.  Not finding the right match on time would have meant that each of my organs would start shutting down.

Fast forward three years to this day, and it has been an emotional one for me, as I recounted that fateful night 3 years ago when I almost lost my life.  It was also a time to reflect on the grace and mercy of God for giving me the gift of life.

I try to remember this every day and consciously put my best self forward as a gift to God.  Sometimes I flounder and find myself overreacting, being impatient and, worse, being judgmental.  Often I find that my priorities are messed up and I’m not spending time on things that matter because the day-to-day demands of life can get overwhelming.  And then I smarten up and start over because I have learnt that every moment is a chance to become who I want to be and to be the best me that I can be.

– Munira

                                         " — "
                                        
Isn't it interesting that on tombstones, you see the person's name, the year that
they were born and the year they died?  The many years they lived is reflected in " — "(the dash) between these two dates.  The texture of their lives, what they stood for,
the values they embraced, the fights they fought, the difference they made, the wisdom they shared, the adventures they lived, the books they read, their passion, their fearsand hopes, all this is in " — " on their tombstone, eerily silent.  Because I live on 
borrowed time (as we all do), I want my " — " to be daring and fearless and bold.  
I ask you this:  What is your " — " going to be?