Rescued.

I dedicate this post, to a good friend of mine. The battles she has faced, the pain she has gone through - I wouldn't wish it upon the worst of my enemies, what more those closest to me.

This is to you, Mahira Mahmod. (:

I first met Mahira in class.

Obviously. We share the same course. I remember thinking to myself when I first saw her - this girl, in Geology? That's some wicked sense of determination right there. She's just so... small.

It was during our very first fieldwork briefing when Pak Cik Wan asked if anybody required special medication on the trip. She raised her hand. My first thought, this girl must be asthmatic or something. All my friends with asthma look the way she does, all small and fragile. Hell, when I was asthmatic, I looked that way too. (Look how much I've grown. Ahahahahahaha)

The fact that she chose to see Pak Cik Wan personally to describe her medications made me think otherwise. I thought of asking my classmates about her condition, but I didn't, feeling that I might have been prying too much into someone's personal life. We weren't even that close that first semester. I mean, if she had chosen to keep her condition from us, there must be a reason she wouldn't want it to be public. At least, that's what I thought.

The semester passed.

We became closer. Bonding over studies, music and other things. I noticed how easily fatigued she got. I noticed how she always excused herself (to take her meds) on an unspoken routine. Which made me think about all the conditions which require constant medication. I thank God for all those episodes of House I've been watching. I had a vague idea. Vague as it was, it was an idea nonetheless.

I never asked her, though.

I haven't asked her. Not even when she posted on her Facebook saying thank you to her 'donor.' The status left me gaping at the screen. Maybe I was right. I pieced the information I had in my mind. I was right. Definitely.

It was today, that my theories were confirmed.

She posted this:

(Read the full story here, non-Malay speakers, you can always hit Google translate to get the gist.)

Mahira had been suffering from AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) from a very young age. She spent her childhood in and out of hospitals. Always on medication. The chemo. I couldn't even begin to imagine what she went through. The condition sums up all my previous hypotheses, on why she was so small, so pale... For once, I didn't like being right.

Mahira, sayang. You are a strong, strong woman. You have more strength in that little frame than I could ever have. Know that all of us here love you dearly, and we could never, ever think of your condition as a weakness.

You're superwoman.

You're going to graduate and become an awesome petroleum geologist. And we're going to meet up in some fancy cafe in Italy with our fabulous footballer husbands, talking about the awesome times we had in uni. (:

Love you!

-Su.

Credits;

Photo of Mahira and I, Lomographer, A'asry Muhammad.

The title is taken from the song "Rescued" by Jack's Mannequin, whose lead singer, Andrew McMahon is a survivor of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.