Not So Ugly People

I wanted to post this Obituary (link at the bottom) for others to read but couldn't find the time...but then, after reading some of the obscene JEs that have been cropping up on naseeb lately, i figured, what better place than here, what better time than now (ya, that's my Rage reference...too bad I can't put that as the soundtrack to this JE).


Some of the stuff on Ghost's JEs (which happens to be nothing more than a bait to get a reaction) was quite disturbing. And then came the Ugly People JE. Disturbing? That's putting it mildly. Women (and some guys) whom I thought level-headed and respectful ... engaging in verbal fisticuffs that would put to shame the vixens on "The Days of our Lives". Really makes you wonder if the title of the JE isn't somehow right on the mark...Us Desi folks can be pretty ugly to each other.


Well, in any case, the main point of this JE is about a remarkable individual I came across over the course of researching for a presentation on "IV Filters" (bear with my randomness for a bit). These Filters are little Net-like, metallic devices placed in the Inverior Vena Cava (the largest blood vessel that takes blood back from your legs to your heart). They function to stop large blood clots from your legs from reaching the lungs in sick people (and causing massive damage...oftentimes leading to death). So I happened to notice that the very first such filter to be devised and used (in 1973) was called the Mobin-Uddin Filter. That name sounded awfully desi to me, so upon some more researching, I discovered that the founder of this device was indeed a desi: the late Vascular Surgeon, Dr. Kazi Mobin-Uddin (1930-1999).


Now, Dr. Mobin-Uddin's device was eventually replaced with better, more functional devices...and perhaps it's hard for non-medical people to understand the significance of his revolutionary discovery...But let me tell you, the idea of putting a permanent foreign object inside a blood vessel was just simply, psychotically brilliant for his time.


Dr. Mobin-Uddin did his medical school in Pakistan. He went on to complete his education in the West and his many discoveries were made possible by the resources made available to him by the West. However, he was a son of Pakistan and a Muslim like most of us on this site. And this brings me back to my initial topic about Ugly people.


This site often reminds me of how ugly our kind can be...and i'm not talking about physical characteristics here. But it doesn't take much for me to be reminded of how beautiful most of us can be...and are. I only have to look at people like Dr. Mobin-Uddin to rejuvenate my confidence in our kind.


P.S. Sorry for the cheese factor.

P.P.S FIG! I detest (internally) Ugly people (that 'fig' was for you, my favorite toon bud)

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And here's the Remarkable Obituary for Dr. Mobin-Uddin, b/c i know you ppl are just dying to read it: download.journals.elsevierhealth.com