PERFECT TIMING

One of my favourite things is driving a car that has just been serviced. The engine purrs quietly and you know you can go miles running on perfect timing. Another one is a soft boiled egg that is neither too runny nor too firm. The secret again is perfect timing, to get it just right.

We can hope and pray and fast for days or even months on end, not to say years even for the desires of our hearts to materialise.

But.

Instead of what we hope for, we get brickbats thrown at us, and we cry our hearts out. The injustice of it all! Is anyone listening out there?

When my eldest was just a child, she asked for a microscope instead of a toy for Christmas or birthday, I can't remember. The thing I remember is that she asked for something that is not atypical of what someone so young would desire.

Then when she was 12, I could have sworn she almost single-handedly delivered 9 puppies, a procedure that I was not comfortable with although she said later it was pure masterly inactivity. Neither of us had experienced a mama bassethound that had whelped.

These were the tell tale signs of what she would like to be in the future and every mother who wants her child to achieve that dream would go to great lengths to make sure that she does.

The long journey of hard work and success and disappointment began for both mother and child. Hard work meant discipline, sacrifice, discipline and sacrifice.

Success meant excellent results, consistency and hope for a wonderful future.

Disappointment meant that even if a student scored excellent results and achieved the required points for the course of her choice at third level education, she was not accepted in a public university nor receive any scholarship based on merit because of man made regulations of  race and quota.

And so we cried.

The only option was to enrol into a private university which meant expensive fees. The mother was willingly running like a hamster on a wheel, night and day, to get that money for the fees.

Not only for one child, but for three.

Fast forward to the next phase of life. The child has graduated and worked in a number of hospitals and her excellent work ethics had not gone unnoticed by her consultants or the nurses that she worked with. So last year, she applied to be on the higher specialist training scheme (HST) for the second time but did not get it.

And so we cried again.

Undeterred, she went on to pursue the 'parallel pathway' on her own.

Then this year, something unprecedented happened.

Every year, the Irish Society of Medical Oncology (ISMO) offers 2 fellowship scholarship spots with collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre , New York . (MSK).

MSK has been ranked as the number two hospital for cancer care in the nation according to U.S. News and World Report in its annual listing of best hospitals. In addition to its ranking for overall cancer care, MSK was ranked #1 Gyneacology as well.

However, interested individuals could only apply for it if they are already pursuing the HST at year 2 onwards. For 2020, the centre waived this criterion and applicants following the 'parallel pathway' could also apply.

On 25 January 2020, which was also the first day of the Chinese New Year, she received the offer. No one could sleep that night. If she had been offered the HST earlier, she would not have been able to apply for this fellowship at this time as she would have only been at year 1..

And I thought of myself having gone through disappointments in my career path where I had applied for a scholarship to do a PhD.  I applied 7 times and attended 7 interviews over 7 years and got 7 rejection letters. Again because of man made regulations.

Undeterred I went on to pursue the doctoral programme on my own as a part time student while working because I could no longer apply for a scholarship due to the age criterion..

What is a miracle? A miracle is God paving the way for something unheard of. A miracle is God saying I love you. A miracle is God knowing what you are going through and giving you a surprise so big and unimaginable to the human brain.

When you are awash in tears over the disappointment, it is hard to imagine the concept of a miracle.

I was awarded Associate Professorship  based on my publications, even though I had no PhD at that point in time. If I had been on scholarship and was away studying, I would have missed the chance to apply for the post. To further add to my joy, I was finally given a scholarship to pursue the doctoral programme because a significant someone recognised my worth. By then I was way past the maximum age allowed to obtain a scholarship. The offer was unprecedented.

When God creates a miracle, there are no half measures.

A heart full of gratitude and joy.

Perfect timing.