My Health Profession

The ambulance was shrieking, and I was the unlucky patient being hurriedly transported to the local hospital. My body lay on a stretcher inside the vehicle, pain shooting through my left arm. “It looks like a massive heart attack,” I heard one of the paramedics whisper. Not knowing the true severity of my situation, I shut my eyes, desperately praying to Ar-Rahman (The Merciful) to have mercy on His slave. ….. I impatiently tugged at the oxygen tubes in my nose, wondering when I would be able to escape from this prison the public decreed was a hospital.  A cardiologist soon strolled into my room, her brown eyes vibrant with empathy as she laid my chart down on the side counter and turned towards me, exclaiming, “ As-salaamu `alaykum Aisha.” Believing her kindness to be merely the facet of a friendly facade, I brusquely muttered an inaudible “ Wa `alaykum as-salaam .” The doctor tucked a strand of loose hair back in her hijab and began the arduous task...