It is He who cures me

Random thoughts
In many places in the Quran human beings have been described as impatient, hasty, ungrateful, arrogant, quarrelsome, greedy, etc. Man develops from an ovum and a single drop of semen and grows into a unique human being. Money, influence and authority often corrupt, making him arrogant and disobedient to his creator.
Allah has appointed him as His viceroy on earth to do good, to do justice and to live a decent life. “To all are degrees (ranks) according to their deeds, for Allah is not unmindful of anything that they do” (6:132). After showering His blessings on His ungrateful creation, the Almighty warned that wrongdoings would be severely punished (3:131). First He warned: “Think not that Allah does not heed the deeds of those who do wrong. He but gives them respite against the Day (of Judgement) when their eyes will fixedly stare in horror” (14:42). Those who transgressed were reminded: “And to how many populations did I give respite, which were given to wrongdoing? In the end I punished them. To Me is the destination of all” (22:48).
All these warnings were ignored by Nimrod and he was killed by a mosquito which entered his brain through his nose. And remember Qarun? In his time he was the richest man on earth but when he became arrogant, the Almighty made the earth swallow him up with all his wealth. (28:76-81). And look at the fate of Firaun (Pharaoh) who was the mightiest ruler of his time. When he persecuted the Bani-Israel and wanted to kill the Prophet Moses (pbuh) and his followers, the Almighty drowned him and his soldiers in the sea. While drowning, he cried out: “I believe there is no god but Allah in whom the children of Israel believe and I am also one of those who submit to Allah”. Whereupon came the reply: “Now you believe although you disobeyed earlier and were among the mischief-makers. We shall now save your corpse so that you may serve as a sign of warning for all posterity, although many men are heedless of Our signs (10:88-92).
My purpose here in referring to Allah’s edicts and the horrible end to the high and mighty who disobeyed him is to emphasise that the rich and powerful have no defence against Allah’s will, for He can wipe them out in a fraction of a second. My experience of last week brought this home to me. Despite having managed to blow a uranium atom to smithereens and having sent a missile into outer space to reach a target 1,500 km away, an infection by a simple bacteria named E coli (German name = Escherichia Coli) turned me into a cabbage-like state.
On the night of March 17 I experienced almost unbearably severe abdominal cramps. Eating some yoghurt with two Imodium capsules helped somewhat and I was able to get a little sleep. The next morning I was still uneasy and called our family doctor, top medical expert Dr Saleem Qureshi of KRL Hospital. A nurse took blood and urine samples and I was given some medication. After an uncomfortable night, I felt feverish the next day.
In the morning Dr Kamran Majeed, DG KRL Health Division, a renowned urologist, and senior nurse, Nuzhat, came. The blood tests showed signs of typhoid. I was prescribed more medicines and advised to wait and see how things would develop. By afternoon the fever started to rise and I was shivering like a leaf in strong wind. My wife put a blanket on me and later, as if from far away, I heard her calling Fayyaz, our driver, to help her put me to bed.
It was at this point that I became unconscious and was unaware of anything until regaining consciousness in the Intensive Care Unit of KRL Hospital, about two hours later. I was told I had been brought in with a temperature of 104 F. I was unaware of being put on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to hospital. Apparently there had been quite a scare with doctors and nurses monitoring vital signs and doing everything within their means. I felt terrible – weak, shaken and still trembling. Duty nurses Nuzhat and Aqsa took excellent care of me; my wife spent most of the days in hospital at my bedside. It made me realise the vulnerability of life, the more so since I am the only male member in my family and I am now almost 79 years old.
Most diseases are caused either by viruses or bacteria – usually all referred to as viral infections – and cause fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, etc. The following information has been taken from ‘The British Medical Association Complete Family Health Encyclopedia’ edited by Dr Tony Smith, Guild Publishing, London (1990).
Viruses are a group of very small organisms, much smaller than bacteria, that can grow and reproduce only if they are part of larger living cells. They invade other cells and take control of their operation. During this process, the living cells are killed and new viruses are born, which then go on to attack other cells, thus spreading from one part of the body to another. Sometimes the invaded cell is not killed and the virus remains dormant within it to become active at a later date – sometimes many years later as in the herpes viruses. Outside the body, viruses can be easily destroyed by chlorine bleach, alcohol, iodine and formaldehyde. Very few drugs are effective against viruses and the best treatment is rest, taking Paracetamol and drinking lots of fluids. Of late, some anti-viral medicines have been invented.
A group of single-celled micro-organisms that can cause diseases are known as germs/bacteria and have been known for over a century. Bacteria that cause diseases are known as pathogens. Dutch Antonie van Leeuwenhoek had discovered some in the 17th century following his invention of the microscope. However, it was not until the 19th century that the French scientist, Louis Pasteur, established that they caused many diseases.
Pathogenic bacteria cause diseases like pneumonia, tonsillitis, meningitis, TBC, typhoid, etc. They thrive in warm, moist conditions and reproduce by division which, under ideal conditions, can take place every 20 minutes. They can enter the body by various means. They produce poisons harmful to the body. If the patient’s urinary tract is weak, sufficient quantities of bacteria can cause high fever, haemorrhaging and shock.
Antibiotics are used to treat bacteria-caused diseases. They are identified by culture and testing. My blood tests showed that I had both typhoid and E coli infections. In my case they caused high fever, trembling and fluctuations in blood pressure and pulse. The excellent care taken by all concerned at KRL Hospital put me back on my feet in five days. My family and I are grateful to the hospital staff and to all those who sent get well wishes.
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com