What's Up Doc? A Surgeon's Story
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While a boy in the village of Gujarat, he witnessed a young boy chasing cattle into a fast-flowing stream. The boy was pulled from the water, but there was nothing that could be done for him—and he died. It was then that the author decided to be a doctor, so he could help people. Eventually, the author and his family immigrated to Scotland. There, he was treated unkindly, but he was determined to navigate his way through life. At age sixteen, he saw a vision of Jesus Christ while at camp. He converted to Christianity, which only made his life more complicated, but he studied hard and became a surgeon. He had started a family of his own and was at the top of his career when he contracted Hepatitis B—and he had to start over again in an entirely new way. Through it all, God worked in miraculous ways to never let him down.
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Believer's Bookshelf Review
The author of this interesting autobiography is a recently retired senior consultant surgeon who was born in Pakistan and grew up in Glasgow in the 1960s. His journey across the world is as nothing compared to his journey from Islam to Christ, and from racial disadvantage to holding senior positions in surgery and administration in the NHS. Today’s crusade about ‘equality’ and fairness to the so-called BAME population was still far away! Because of his ethnicity, primary and secondary school days in the big city were difficult. His high achievements were not always given the recognition they deserved, and classmates could be cruel and unkind. But, against the odds, he achieved a place in Glasgow University’s medical school. How God overruled during his student days is amazing – even in the detail of how he found a summer job, and how he met the Christian girl who became his wife. His path to faith in Christ is, to many of us, quite unorthodox. While growing up in the city he encountered a few Christians, some helpful and others less so, and many questions about religion entered his young mind. He trusted Christ at a school camp in Golspie at the age of 16, after a Christian student leader befriended him and showed the way rather than preaching it. His decision to follow Christ had severe repercussions in his family back home: they practically disowned him. On finishing medical school, Riaz and his wife set up home in Glasgow. Finances were scarce, and long hours in theatre were taxing. A reckless driver crashed into his small car one evening but, miraculously, he survived, and not only continued practising surgery, but also achieved high academic honours. Thereafter he was consultant gastrointestinal surgeon at West Fife General Hospital, Dunfermline, pioneering keyhole surgery there and becoming clinical director for surgery in Fife. Wherever he worked, his Christian testimony was clear, and encouragement with other Christian colleagues was a mutual blessing. His next career move was back to Glasgow but, just then, he received another heavy blow. His surgery career was finished. He was found to be a carrier of Hepatitis B, although the source of it was never discovered. However, for a further 11 years he was employed as a specialist adviser to a recognised medical defence team. Riaz Mohammed’s life story is well told. Its near-colloquial style makes it easy to read, while it conveys lessons which are difficult to learn: dealing with many types of adversity; living out a clear testimony in the work place; dealing with family upsets and work commitments; contributing to overseas projects. Essentially, how trusting God in every strange circumstance is the way to live!
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