Trip to Minnesota

Assalaamualaikum Warahmutallahi Wabarakatuh,

Shortly after the doctors told us there is nothing more they can do for Asma when her cancer came back (relapse), we were looking for other alternatives.

Actually, we tried to look for alternatives when Asma became ill, but the doctor (he was Muslim by the way) threatened to take Asma away from us by getting the DCFS (Department of Children and Famil Services) involved in this.

So that idea was shot down immediately. We couldnt do anything else but just listen to the doctors. In a way, we were forced to do whatever they wanted us to do.

May Allah punish them. Ameen

Anyways, once they gave up, they told us we were free to do whatever we wish. It was pretty pointless then because they had already destroyed her body. Anyways, we found a doctor in Minnesota at the children's hospital who dealt with both alternative medicine as well as conventional medicine.

We left in the evening. We were going to be gone for about two days. I came home from school and packed everything up in our Toyota Previa.

It was my parents, Asma, (I think Aysha too), and myself. It was around 5:00 PM by the time we left.

We left and were on our way to Minnesota. I drove the whole way. As I stopped for gas on the way in Green Bay, Wisconson, I asked the attendant if he knows anything about the weather as I head up North to Minnesota.

He claimed that there was a snow blizzard on its way. I braced up myself for it knowing that our van was a rear-wheel drive and it sucks in the snow. Anyone who knows anything about cars will know that cars that are rear wheel drives simply have horrible traction/control in anything other than dry weather.

Anyways I filled up gas and we were on our way once again. Sure enough, the snow was coming like crazy.

The traffic was disappearing. It was only few other cars and those big, scary semi trucks/tractor trailors.

The snow was coming so fast, it was accumulating quickly. They couldnt plow the roads because it was coming so fast.

I reduced my speed from 65-75 MPH to 30-40 MPH. There were times when the van would lose traction, but I would quickly gain control again by easing of the gas pedal.

Anyways, about 10-15 minutes later, as I was driving on the left lane of the two-lane highway and listening to Quran (actually the same Surah and recitation as the on this blog), the van lost control. I didnt even do anything. Its not like accelerated or braked. I didnt turn the steering wheel either. For some reason, the van just started to turn sideways.

The van's rear was turning sideways towards the right. Now imagine your car starting to spin while going 30-40 MPH (thats about 64 KPH for the UKers). I must say it was scary. Everything happened in a split second.

Since I was on the left lane of the two-lane highway, at one point in time the rear of the van was on the right lane as it was turning sideways towards the right.

The more it was turning, the closer I was getting to the ditch on the left side of the road. I really thought my van was going to flip and roll over into the ditch. I thought. My only thought was if my family was okay. I didnt think what was going to happen to me. I kept thinking how to keep my family safe. I was even more worried about my sister's leg since it had the massive tumor. I didnt want her to hurt or be in pain.

As I was inches away from the ditch, the van all of a sudden stopped. Wallah I dont know it stopped when it was turning at such a fast rate. I was surprised and so was everyone else. It literally felt like I hit a wall because of the way it stopped of all a sudden.

Alhamdulillah, there werent any cars or trucks on the road at the time. Otherwise we would have been crushed.

At this point, my van was facing the opposite direction facing the oncoming traffic.

I made sure everyone was okay. I then tried to get out of there, but the van was stuck in the snow. I got out of the van and went around it only to find the rear wheels were buried in the snow. I tried to scoop the snow out with my hands as fast as I could in fear of getting hit by oncoming traffic.

My dad told me to come back in the van. Subhana'Allah, out of nowhere this tow/plow truck made a U-turn from the other side of the highway and pulled over right by us. He hooked our van up to a cable and tugged us out of the snow in a matter of seconds.

I started to see traffic come our way. It wasnt just the cars, but also the semi trucks.

As the guy pulled us out, he quickly unhooked my van and told me to go as the traffic was coming at full speed. Since I was facing the opposite direction, I turned around on the highway. Since my tires were covered in snow, I didnt have traction.

The rear end of my van was swirving side to side as I tried to accelerate trying to avoid getting hit by the traffic.

Alhamdulillah, I gained traction and control and was able to speed up and avoid getting hit.

It was such a close call with death. Subhana'Allah. We were so relieved and thankful/grateful to Allah for saving us. We saw a number of cars and trucks flipped over or wedged between trees on the side of the roads because of the snow. We saw some upside down in the ditch. There were people waiting for help.

But us, we were pulled out and on our way again in a matter of few minutes. Alhamdulillah.

We eventually got to Minnesota. What usually takes about 5-6 hours, took us about 12 hours because of the weather. But Alhamdulillah, we made it safely.

It was early morning and we just went up to our friend's place. We ate and went to sleep.

We got up early in the morning to go to the doctor's office with Asma. We ate breakfast and were on our way.

We got there and spoke to the doctor. She loved Asma. Everybody fell in love with Asma for some reason. lol

After the appointment, we left in disappointment. She basically said there was no hope for Asma. We felt helpless. We felt useless. We felt like we were let down and the world was coming down on us.

Asma was quiet. She was down. She didnt say much.

My parents on the way back were quietly shedding tears as they were trying to think of a new plan.

Subhana'Allah the love of the parents is something I cant put in words. My parents never gave up on Asma regardless of what people told us. They were ready to spend each and every penny for Asma. Allahu Akbar. Brings tears to my eyes when I think about this.

It took us about 5-7 hours to go back home. We stopped on the way to eat and refuel. It was depressing. It was scary.

We came back home with sense of uncertainty and many unknowns.

Despite all that, we were relentless in our pursuit to save Asma. We had complete faith in Allah Subhanawa'alaa.

We always told ourselves thats its up to Him if Asma lives or not. We just have to do our part.

I think thats the attitude everyone should have in their lives. We should have tawakkul and understand that whatever happens, happened because its the Qadr of Allah.

We cannot question or regret it.

May Allah elevate Asma's status in Jannah to the highest. Ameen
May Allah reunite us with Asma once again.
May Allah open up our hearts and guide us to the straight path. Ameen
May Allah forgive us of our sins. Ameen
May Allah allow us to put complete faith in Him. Ameen
May Allah reward my parents for their care, love and support for Asma they had given. Ameen
May Allah forgive my parents of their sins and keep them on the straight path. Ameen
May Allah give shiffa and sabr to all the sick. Ameen

Assalaamualaikum Warahmutallahi Wabarakatuh.