I couldn’t sleep all night and couldn’t stop myself from crying. All I could do was think of him and the times we use to go to their house in Canton for sleepovers when we were kids.  I kept remembering the times I would help him out at his leather store on the weekends. I kept remembering the times I would see him at Eid prayer in his crisp white thoub. That night I prayed and prayed for his recovery and hoped this was all a mistake.

Today I received another update. It seems the doctors are saying there is no treatment that can help him due to the way the cancer has spread, more tests to follow in the upcoming days.  Allah is all Powerful, He has the power to do anything, we have to continue to pray and remain hopeful.  I pray that Allah gives my uncle’s wife and five children the strength and patience to get through this time.

When something like this happens to a loved one it makes you reflect about many things in life. First and foremost, it makes you grateful for your health and reminds you to take advantage of your health before you fall sick. Are we using our healthy bodies for the worship of Allah? It also reminds you that every soul will taste death. What are we doing in this life to assure our spot in Jannah? And lastly, it reminds us to uphold the ties of kinship, to stay in touch with our loved ones. Do we keep in touch with our families (an email, a phone call etc.)?

May Allah remove all the cancer from my uncle’s body and return him to a healthy state as quickly as possible. Ameen.