New to Islam? dreams2reality

(Sisters Real Name Not Given)

Assalamu alaikum,

About 6 years ago I worked as a Medical Assistant, and had just began my first semester at a community college for nursing. While I was doing my internship for my medical assistant program I worked for several doctors in an urgent care. One of the doctors was Muslim and his wife worked there as well. They hired me to baby-sit their children and I did, when I saw the way that they lived and how happy they were because of simple things I was intrigued. I began to ask questions and she started to tell me about islam.

Growing up my family was Baptist, but with the exception of my grandmother, not very active in their religion. I had become close to my religion because of the large amount of time I spent with my grandmother and I stayed close even when I got older. At our Christmas parties I was the only one to leave and go to church, several members of my extended family are atheist and found that funny.

So when I began to learn about islam at first I had a lot of questions and was confused because my accepting islam basically meant that what I had believed my whole life was wrong, and I had firmly believed without a doubt. But Islam put a doubt that would not go away in my faith. I knew my family would react badly and I was Christian and couldn't accept that I had been wrong all of this time, but I knew in my heart that I wanted to say shahadah. But I told her that I cant learn this anymore and my internship ended. So I went to work for another Dr I had found that I really enjoyed computer programming because of some work that I had done with the IT people who had created the new billing program we worked with. They had told me to stay with IT and so I decided that I would go on for my BS degree and go into IT. There was a transfer agreement between the community colleges here and a local university (with a large Muslim population) that I planned to enroll in.

I still had doubts about my religion and hadn't gone to church since I left my internship. I still read the information she gave me and I still wondered but I kept trying to push it out of my mind and not think about it. On my way to class one day I was in a car accident alhumdulilah, I was pronounced dead, and am still listed as DOA on the police report. I was driving about 70 mph and went under a semi truck. They resuscitated me 2 times before they got me to the hospital and they stabilized me as well as they could. I had no ID and my family wasn't contacted until the next day when they had found a proof of insurance and called my insurance agent, who also insured my brother. He called my brother who told me mother and they came to identify me. But when they got there they couldn't identify me except finally by my legs because my upper body had been broken, cut, and twisted so badly. My head was swollen and my skull was crushed, I suffered a subarchnoid hemorrhage on impact (which is a usually fatal inoperable bleed in your brain), my neck was broken (c-1 and this is right at the brain stem and controls your breathing and heart rate etc.), both of my arms were broken, my face broken, my retina had started to detach on my eye that was out of socket, my shoulder was broken, several ribs, and my collarbone, etc. I stayed in a coma for a couple months. They said when I woke that I would never walk or talk again and they asked my family to unplug the life support that kept me alive. They refused. When I came out of the coma I was paralyzed from the neck down, and later only on the right side.

I came out of the hospital and worked hard learning to walk again and eventually got to the point where I could walk 4 miles easily, alhumdulilah. I went back to school, I had a strong desire to go back to school and wanted very much to go to the university that I mentioned before, that had the transfer agreement and was located in a city with a large Muslim population. I finished my last semester at community college and graduated with honors. During my last semester my husband had gotten a job on the other side of the country and plans changed I was to go to a university there instead. But 1 week before the moving trucks came I learned of some horrible news and decided that I would ask for a divorce, alhumdulilah. I stayed here and called the university to see about enrolling for the fall. My first day on campus I was so nervous and I could see Muslim women wearing hijab (some niqqab) all over and I just watched. My first class was bio and my lab partners were fatima and Anisah. They were really kind and I asked questions and they took me to the masjid and gave me hijab and answered all of my questions. In another of my classes I met people from the MSA and they took me to jummah and Introduced me to the Sheikh that I said shahadah with a few weeks later during Ramadan. I kept going to jummah and studying and learned the difference between Sunni and shia, and Ramadan began. I fasted all of Ramadan and went to ifthars on campus. In the last week of Ramadan I said shahadah.

I have a new outlook on life and cherish the simple things, never taking for granted the gifts Allah (subhan wa tala) has given to me. Every second that I am here able to do things I would have complained about before, or watch the sunrise, or the sunset, smell the grass after it rains, or watch the rain, or spend time with my family and friends. All the things that I am here for and can do, even the ones I don't want to do, everything that happens even when it doesn't look like there could be any good reason for it, I thank Allah (subhan wa tala) and I know (from experience) that Allah (subhan wa tala) is the best of planners and what looks like the worst thing in your life could very well turn out to be the best thing.

Allah (subhan wa tala) wanted to get my attention and he took me apart, took everything that I took for granted that only he could have given me and only he could give me back. I knew laying in the hospital bed, even though I couldn't speak, that I was only alive because of Allah (subhan wa tala) . And when I could speak the first thing I said (to my father) was that God had a plan for me. Dr's were constantly amazed or unable to explain things. But I could explain it, it was Allah's (subhan wa tala) will. Eventually Allah (subhan wa tala) put me back together (like only he could do) and I can walk and talk and with the exception of a few scars people would never know what happened to me. (and with the exception of my face and hands I am covered so when I tell people this they cant believe it and say that I don't look like this happened, then I show them the pictures and they say subhanAllah. Allah (subhan wa tala) had a plan and it involved getting my attention and making sure that I got to that university and met the people that i met and my saying shadah, and only Allah (subhan wa tala) could have planned it so perfectly. alnumdulilah