My dad, a drug addict abandoned my mom and us some fifteen years ago. He still comes to visit though, when he needs something. My mom, a determined, hardworking and pious woman, singlehandedly raised her five children. May Allah Ta’ala shower his choicest blessings on my mother, Ameen - she sacrificed her own hunger to kill the hunger pangs of her children.

I won’t complain about my childhood, my mother - did her utmost and level best to ensure that we were properly fed, reared, dressed and educated. After the completion of matric, I secured a bursary and went on to study pharmacy at UKZN. By the third year of my studies I was already married.
In a matter of time I got seriously ill. All the doctors I saw attributed my constant blood loss to severe anaemia.

With medication and prolonged bouts of treatment, the symptoms did not subside and my health never improved. That is when my husband suggested that I see a specialist. Not long after that, I was positively diagnosed with leukemia. I am currently on treatment and I need to have a blood transfusion every two to three weeks. All the stress and added expense of my treatment must have proved too much of a burden for my husband, because a few weeks later he left me and my children, saying that he was going to Zimbabwe, in the hope for better pay. I haven’t seen him since.

After a full eight months I eventually received a phone call from my husband, saying he no longer wanted to be a part of our marriage. So much for standing together, through sickness and health, good and bad!

I am definitely not writing this as a means of complaining. Alhamdulillah, I have four beautiful children and we still wake up breathing every morning, which is a blessing in itself. What more could I ask for?

I have realized that men go to great lengths planning their daily activities and their futures, but Allah Ta’ala is the best of planners. I have decided to focus my energies on my children and my health, Insha Allah, I will be provided with the strength and ability to do for them all that my own mom had done for all of her children. One’s survival is not dependent on another human being, but only on one’s own faith. Regardless of how difficult these roads may be, there’s always faith, hope and Allah Ta’ala.

The sister who wrote this letter is currently being assisted financially by the Welfare Department of Darul Ihsan Centre.

It is indeed very sad to note the extent of suffering some people are experiencing. We make dua that Allah Ta’ala overcomes her difficulties and improves her situation so that she can support and take care of herself and her children.