Asma visited her class only a couple of times for a few minutes. She really wanted to be in school. The school and the hospital had arranged for a tutor to come to our home to help Asma with her studies. Because of her energy level and condition of her health, that did not go too well. So after a short while, all that had stopped as she did not have any energy as a result of her illness and side effects of the treatments.

She was quite excited when she received a letter from a junior high school with her name on it. It made her feel special and older. She couldn’t stop smiling. She was so happy that she wanted my father to open it. But of course, that day never came when she would attend that school.

Al-istiqamah: Could you describe the day your family found out that she had cancer?

Omar: It was a sunny Friday afternoon and I had come back from Salatul Jumu’ah (Friday Prayer). I was standing near the stairs when the phone rang. We all looked at each other as my father walked towards the phone and answered it. As my father spoke on the phone, we kept silent, trying to listen-in on the conversation. My father remained quiet most of the time. The anxiety was growing as each second passed.

Al-istiqamah: How did your father react to the news?

Omar: My father stood up from his chair and walked towards Asma. Halfway towards her, he looked over to my mother and said in Urdu, “Isko tumor hay…” (“She has a tumor…”). He sat down next to Asma and held her in his arms and started to cry. My mother came and sat on the other side of Asma and began to cry as well.

Al-istiqamah: Were further tests done?

Omar: Yes. Asma immediately went in for a biopsy which determined that her tumor was malignant (cancerous tumor). Little did we know this was the beginning of the end…

Al-istiqamah: I guess that must have been quite a devastating blow to the family?

Omar: It was probably the biggest blow to my parents and the rest of the family. My father had a heart attack exactly a month after Asma passed away. It hit him very hard. My father was the world to Asma as she was to him.

My mother’s health has been downhill ever since Asma had become ill. My mother spent each and every second with Asma during the whole 3-year ordeal. She would sleep on the chair for weeks and months at times at the hospital along Asma’s bedside. All this had taken a heavy toll on her. I remember once my mother was on the speakerphone while speaking to my father from the hospital. She started to cry on the phone as she told him she feels like she is slowly losing Asma. It was heartbreaking to hear that. Like my father, my mother was everything to Asma as Asma was to my mother.

Asma was the baby of the house. Asma lightened up the mood wherever she was. If there was tension in the room, she would soften things up. If there was sadness in the room, she would fill the room with happiness. Asma always seemed to bring in positive energy and attitude regardless of what the mood was of others.

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