What A Week

Today is Sunday, November 16, 2025 and the past week has felt like an intense rollercoaster for me – physically, mentally, and emotionally. It all started last Saturday evening when all of a sudden it felt like my body got hit by a truck…I was so tired, my body was aching and all I wanted to do was lay down on the couch and not move. These same feelings carried over to the next day and it was here where I thought ‘Hmm, I was just sick a two weeks ago, could I have caught another virus this fast or was this something else?’. My whole body felt super weak and whenever I stood up my legs felt like noodles, barely holding me up. I got flashbacks of the time my muscles were so inflamed, I had lost all the strength I once had in them. This was not fun…I went into a dark spiral with my thoughts – could this be a flare up? Is it because I reduced my immunosupressent medication? What does this weakness mean? I kept checking if there were any rashes on my skin (another sign of a flare up) but thankfully there wasn’t anything – it was just muscle weakness and fatigue that I was expriencing. Still, I was worried, so I decided to let my doctor know what was happening. She told me on Monday morning to get some bloodtests done at Amiri Hospital so we can check to make sure everything was fine and rule out if it’s a flare up or not.My husband took me to the hospital and I had my blood drawn as usual, in and out, a seamless process….Now we just had to wait for the results to come out. Aaah the dreaded waiting game. During this time all I kept thinking of was, ‘Please God let me not be having a flare up, I’m booked to take my daughter to a triathlon race this weekend in Bahrain and all I want is to be healthy and strong enough to take her.’ Monday ended but only the cbc results were out and they were all good الحمد لله. Usually the rest of the results come out early the next morning so I kept checking every 15 minutes or so but nothing…All I kept seeing was the ‘Pending’ status every time I checked which just kept causing more anxiety and nervousness to build up. Why was it taking forever for the results to come out?! Does this mean there is something wrong with me? Finally, by 12:40 pm they were out and thankfully everything was normal! Then what was going on with me? Why was I feeling this tired and out it? My doctor called me and reassured me that the results were all great…It could be just a virurs I caught but maybe because I took the flu shot, it wasn’t a full fledged flu that I was expriencing. I was so thankful it was just that and nothing more. Now I just needed to get better faster so I’d have the energy for the trip on the weekend! I rested, and rested, and rested as much as I could – laying on the couch or in bed, reading, watching TV, meditating, trying to recover from this as fast as I could.

By Wednesday afternoon I was feeling much better! Not 100% yet but at least I was able to go with my husband and kids to their parent-teacher conferences at school for 2 hours. Wow, it felt like a massive accomplishment after 4 days at home, barely able to move. It was a great feeling hearing positive feedback from all their teachers – truly a proud moment for me. الله يحفظهم ويوفقهم يا رب. I felt great (but a little talked out) by the time we got back home. I knew that night I felt good enough to travel the next day so a sense of relief washed over me. By Thursday morning the excitement of traveling for the race caught up to me and I was really in a good place – physically and emotionally. This was the first trip to a race where it was just me and Shaikha, without her father or any of her siblings. Although, I was blessed to have my sister join us on this trip. On Friday morning, race day, we were awake extremely early and super ready! I was truly physically tested this day, standing most of the morning outdoor, covered in UPF clothing, sunblock and wide brimmd hat, walking all overthe event area, following Shaikha during her race from the beach, to the bike transition area then to the running route and finally back to the finish line! It was an exhausting 7 hours but worth every second of it! As physically challenged as I was, I felt invigorated and over the moon and super proud of Shaikha and happy for her. I was so grateful in that moment that I could be there with her, celebrating this achievement, being in awe of what she accomplished. To me it was more than just a race…It was me witnessing my daughter push herself, endure through hardship, and fight until the end. She came in third place! She was on cloud nine. I was just as happy, if not happier. Then in an instant I felt the complete opposite – sadness and sorrow overtook me. As soon as her race was over I received news that her former English teacher in school had passed away from a heart attack, may he rest in peace. I was in shock and couldn’t believe it. I had just seen him 2 days ago at the parent-teacher conferences. This couldn’t be real. Except it was. I walked to the side where no one could see me and took a moment to myself to absorb this. I truly felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster and I didn’t know which way it would go next. I knew I needed to get back to Shaikha and the awards ceremony and to put on a happy face but on the inside I couldn’t help but feel down and heavy-hearted. It’s scary and crazy how unexpected life can be. You really never know what’s around the corner and just how fragile your life can be. It’s a reminder not to take things for granted and to appreciate all the moments we have together.

We flew back to Kuwait Friday night so I could see my daughter Yasmine play on the last day of her volleyball tournament with school. Saturday was another long but exciting day watching her play with her team. They won their first match of the day which took them to the semi-finals! Woohoo! I have to take a moment and say how proud I am of Yasmine. Of course there are a million reasons to be proud of her but I’m so happy she chose to try a new sport last year (volleyball) and she’s a superstar at it! She was co-captain this year and was able to get her team to come in first place at the local tournament a couple of weeks back and second place at this regional tournament this weekend. Bravo Yasmine!

A lot happened this past week – highs, lows, wins, losses, happy moments, heart-breaking ones, I was tested physically and emotionally. It was an overwhelming week but one filled with many takeaways. Here are some…Don’t take things for granted, take care of your health, appreciate the time you have with your loved ones, celebrate any achievement, big or small, time is fleeting. As cliche as this sounds, life is precious and fragile, you only live it once so make it count.

اللهم اجعل السعادة دائمة في حياتنا، اللهم ابعد عنا الحزن والضيق، اللهم فرّج همومنا ويسّر أمورنا واشرح صدورنا، اللهم تقبل أدعية قلوبنا.