Generally, I’m not a cricket buff. But the day I heard about this out-of-the-world accident, I was left thinking. The death story of Phil Hughes gave me lesson of life.
Phil Hughes suffered an injury that is very rare to come across, even for a doctor like me . Medically speaking, the ball somehow swinged enough to hit the back of his head, exactly where one of vertebral arteries runs. The vertebral arteries are a hugely important part of blood supply system to the brain. And as it burst, he fell unconscious, went into a cerebral stroke, and never recovered again .
This is extremely, extremely surreal. There are arteries in the brain which usually are more prone in other patients are all but the vertebral artery. In fact, if the ball would’ve hit just millimeters aside in an direction, all that Hughes would have suffered is some concussion, and he would have been up again. But I guess it wasn’t his day.
I have seen people Deep Reflections on the Demise of Cricketer Phil Hughes
Generally, I’m not a cricket buff. But the day I heard about this out-of-the-world accident, I was left thinking.
The death story of Phil Hughes gave me lesson of life.
Phil Hughes suffered an injury that is very rare to come across, even for a doctor like me . Medically speaking, the ball somehow swinged enough to hit the back of his head, exactly where one of vertebral arteries runs. The vertebral arteries are a hugely important part of blood supply system to the brain. And as it burst, he fell unconscious, went into a cerebral stroke, and never recovered again .
This is extremely, extremely surreal. There are arteries in the brain which usually are more prone in other patients are all but the vertebral artery. In fact, if the ball would’ve hit just millimetres aside in an direction, all that Hughes would have suffered is some concussion, and he would have been up again. But I guess it wasn’t his day.
I have seen people amongst my near and dear ones to die all different kinds of deaths. The most traumatic one that I recall was about one of my maternal uncle and aunt. Picture this, they were on their way to give a surprise visit to a sister for her birthday who resided 2 hours away. And on the way this happened. They had one of the most tragic accidents anyone could ever imagine. Both husband and wife died of multiple injuries to head, limbs and abdomen within moments to hours of the accident, and it wasn’t even their fault. And the worst part was that their two daughters aged 3 and 6 years then, who were in the back seat, were saved with few cuts and bruises, orphaned for life. Within seconds, a happy family was shattered and the scars of that day still ache to those who reminisce.
The lesson I learned from all of this is that death is the only reality that is guaranteed in life, nothing else is. Whatever we love, desire, or get close to, is going to someday just perish. Our jobs will be gone, and so will our friends, our family, our ego, our dreams, our goals – everything will just go. When the angel of death comes calling, it will just come, no matter how “absurd,” “rare,” or “unusual” it may be. No bargains available.
When I was thinking about all of this, it literally changed my life’s perspective. As the Quranic verse of Surah Rahman goes, ‘Everything on earth will perish, but the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honour will remain’. [Quran 55:26-27] Everything that I do without seeking the pleasure of The Almighty will just be a naught, but those deeds which were done to seek His pleasure and His Grace, will endure till the end of time. Losses in job/businesses, heartbreak, and detachment are no longer that painful anymore, because at the end of the time, your expectations should and will come down to zero with respect to this transient world.
Whatever you got, get or will be getting, good or bad, always always always see it as a gift from Your Lord. Every second with a loved one is now precious, because you know that it’s a gift. Every moment of enjoyment, pleasure or satisfaction need to be cherished, because it’s a present too. Every time it hurts, do not despair, because you know that with time it’s going to end as well! Who knows, it may be a test too, a portal to earn few extra deeds!!
When your focus becomes the Almighty, Master of the Universe, and not how many likes you get on Facebook, who likes your picture, who gave you a comment or compliment; life seems much more than these petty issues. Eventually, you learn to forgive the people who hurt and cherish those who love you, and get over your pride, because what is the use of your ego if you’re going to be worm feast six feet under the ground in just a few days?
Someone said once that human beings need three things to be happy— something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. I find all three of them in this verse of the Quran:
‘And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the God-conscious.’ [Quran, 3:133]
Something to do— hasten to forgive;
Something to love— seeking forgiveness from your Lord;
Something to hope for— Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth!
Everything good that you do to seek His pleasure is worship, and hastens you to His Mercy. Plus the more you do, the more you’ll get. And better hasten at it ’cause time is running out. Lastly, to sum it all, the only thing that I have to say is- turn to Your Creator, before you return to Your Creator. my near and dear ones to die all different kinds of deaths. The most traumatic one that I recall was about one of my maternal uncle and aunt. Picture this, they were on their way to give a surprise visit to a sister for her birthday who resided 2 hours away. And on the way this happened. They had one of the most tragic accidents anyone could ever imagine. Both husband and wife died of multiple injuries to head, limbs and abdomen within moments to hours of the accident, and it wasn’t even their fault. And the worst part was that their two daughters aged 3 and 6 years then, who were in the back seat, were saved with few cuts and bruises, orphaned for life. Within seconds, a happy family was shattered and the scars of that day still ache to those who reminisce.
The lesson I learned from all of this is that death is the only reality that is guaranteed in life, nothing else is. Whatever we love, desire, or get close to, is going to someday just perish. Our jobs will be gone, and so will our friends, our family, our ego, our dreams, our goals – everything will just go. When the angel of death comes calling, it will just come, no matter how “absurd,” “rare,” or “unusual” it may be. No bargains available.
When I was thinking about all of this, it literally changed my life’s perspective. As the Quranic verse of Surah Rahman goes, ‘Everything on earth will perish, but the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honour will remain’. [Quran 55:26-27] Everything that I do without seeking the pleasure of The Almighty will just be a naught, but those deeds which were done to seek His pleasure and His Grace, will endure till the end of time. Losses in job/businesses, heartbreak, and detachment are no longer that painful anymore, because at the end of the time, your expectations should and will come down to zero with respect to this transient world.
Whatever you got, get or will be getting, good or bad, always always always see it as a gift from Your Lord. Every second with a loved one is now precious, because you know that it’s a gift. Every moment of enjoyment, pleasure or satisfaction need to be cherished, because it’s a present too. Every time it hurts, do not despair, because you know that with time it’s going to end as well! Who knows, it may be a test too, a portal to earn few extra deeds!!
When your focus becomes the Almighty, Master of the Universe, and not how many likes you get on Facebook, who likes your picture, who gave you a comment or compliment; life seems much more than these petty issues. Eventually, you learn to forgive the people who hurt and cherish those who love you, and get over your pride, because what is the use of your ego if you’re going to be worm feast six feet under the ground in just a few days?
Someone said once that human beings need three things to be happy— something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. I find all three of them in this verse of the Quran:
‘And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the God-conscious.’ [Quran, 3:133]
Something to do— hasten to forgive;
Something to love— seeking forgiveness from your Lord;
Something to hope for— Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth!
Everything good that you do to seek His pleasure is worship, and hastens you to His Mercy. Plus the more you do, the more you’ll get. And better hasten at it ’cause time is running out. Lastly, to sum it all, the only thing that I have to say is- turn to Your Creator, before you return to Your Creator.
by Dr Aafreen Kotadiya
MGM University
