Blind to Bounds

Prof M. A. Almani was Fasih’s mentor. It was under his guidance Fasih founded and became the Founder President of the blood bank in Liaqat Medical College, Jamshoro in 4th year of MBBS.
Prof Almani was the first person he took me to meet after I arrived in Karachi, Pakistan after wedding.
Once years later, Fasih walked into the public service commission interview for 18 grade. To Fasihs surprise, Prof Almani was one of the three examiners. He smiled and told the other examiners you ask questions. I have nothing to ask.
In April.2015 he knew who to call as Chief Guest for the inauguration of Taj Consultants Clinics. Ofcourse it couldn’t be anyone but Almani Sb.
Prof M A Almani is in his late 80s now and I dread to imagine how shattered he would be to hear Fasih’s tragic news. 😦

Fasih often shared interesting stories about his blood bank activities.

Once to replenish the blood bank they organized a blood donation camp in a nearby district. They collected many pack when suddenly some local nationalist goons came and threatening to destroy the collected blood with accusation that as non son-of-soil he was collecting their blood to feed some rose garden in Karachi.
Fasih sent message to Prof Almani, who was the Principal of LMC then, and he arrived and stood in front of Fasih angrily saying, “before you touch him and his blood packs spill my blood.”

2 years later,he was doing Housejob in Surgery, during Ramadan with his sister and sister in law he drove after Sehri from Hyderabad to Karachi in an Alto. On the way still closer to Hyderabad they had a near fatal accident with a truck and were rushed to Jamshoro hospital. He had extensive injury in his neck, chest snd right hand. He needed 10 pints of blood. It was the same blood bank which had the plaque on its wall Founder President Syed Fasihuddin who supplied those 10 pints immediately. The in charge of the blood bank started crying. Fasih was bedridden for 6 months had several surgeries. All his right hands tendons were cut and he took almost 5 -6 reconstructive surgeries to put them together. It was after this incident he had to change his choice from surgery to medicine and then pulmonology.

Blood donation was his annual ritual and he took special pride that he was O Positive- a universal donor.

When Fasih got admitted with Covid I did some googling and was so relieved to find that persons with O positive blood group have less complications in COVID19 than any other blood group. Wonder why he still succumbed to the wretched virus.

I echo the sentiments of one of his patients bases in Ohio who wrote on Taj’s page, “He was my and my family’s doctor. I will hate Corona Virus always for one reason- for taking this man away.”