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Five years ago, to the day, I woke up early to undergo a major operation at the American Medical Center in Nicosia, Cyprus. As well as my wife Claire, my eldest daughter Leila, and my brother Samir, I was surrounded…
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Exactly four years ago on 31 August 2018, I was wheeled to the medical operating theatre at the American Hospital in Nicosia, Cyprus. It was a Friday and, based on the best medical advice available, the decision to go ahead…
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Six months ago, on Thursday 17 February 2022 to be precise, my mother passed away with her final wish being granted: to die in her own bed while still in control of her faculties. Having reached the grand old age…
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Somewhere between present day Uganda and Rwanda in the Albertine Rift Mountains, lived a stable and orderly family of mountain gorillas; let’s call them the Smokey Family. The family consisted of the silver-backed male leader called Hokey who stood at…
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We all have them. Those events in our lives which prove to be pivotal and life-redefining as we move ahead. They tend to be highly meaningful, important and very emotional (happiness or sadness). For example, the loss of a close…
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From a young age, probably six or seven, I looked to my father as an example of appearance. He was a man who cared about how he looked from the way he brushed his hair to the shoes he wore;…
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Here is a trick question for you: what is the reason for every death that had ever occurred throughout human history? Remember, I said it was a trick question. Your first reaction is to say: ‘are you serious? People die…
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At around 7:00 pm on 1st July last year, Claire drove me to John Radcliff Hospital in Oxford with high fever and acute pain in my lower back and legs. As she drove, with mounting concern by both of us,…
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I have a small heart. Not in the actual physical sense, of course, but in the capacity to accommodate people I love and care about. Every now and again, somebody comes along, like a newly born in the family who…
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As a result of my serious illness last year, where my prognosis was in serious doubt, I consider myself to be very lucky indeed to experience another Christmas with my family and friends. There was a time when I took…
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