Fighting diabetes for a decade, Asif qualifies NEET aims to become Endocrinologist

Asif Nabi who is suffering from Type-I diabetes at SKIMS during World Diabetes Day on Monday. - Excelsior/Shakeel
Asif Nabi who is suffering from Type-I diabetes at SKIMS during World Diabetes Day on Monday. - Excelsior/Shakeel

Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Nov 14: Diagnosed with Type-I diabetes nearly 12 years ago, Asif Nabi, 22, from Harwan in Srinagar outskirts has qualified NEET with flying colours and has secured a place for MBBS in Government Medical College (GMC), Baramulla. He is aiming to become an Endocrinologist to treat the patients suffering from the disease he has been battling since he was a kid.
Asif was diagnosed with diabetes when he was in 4th standard. His life has been full of struggle but didn’t allow the diseases to become a handicap for accomplishing his goal.
“Initially, things were difficult, but with time, as I understood the disease, everything started to fall in line and I found myself managing it seamlessly,” he told Excelsior while narrating his story of fight against the disease.
Asif said that it was due to the timely help and advice of the doctors of the Department of Endocrinology, SKIMS that he could take on various life challenges and manage the disease well. “In 2018, I started preparing for the NEET, but I could not study and secured only 180 points; at that time my mental state was disturbed. I didn’t want to sit and study,” he said.
In the same year, based on 12th marks, Asif got a seat in Diploma in Medical Lab Technology, but that did not make him content. “That did not suit me, but after I completed it, I asked myself what I was doing because I wanted to become a doctor. By that time, things had improved including my mental state, blood sugar was in control, and neuropathy was absent. Tests were coming normal and then I decided to go ahead,” he said.
Then in 2020, Asif gave another chance to NEET, but this time, he was not able to fathom things. “I prepared Biology and Chemistry only and secured 440 marks. That year, I was getting BDS. But I did not go for it.”
However, this year, Asif prepared for NEET full determination, appeared in the examination, and managed to get 630 points. “During the examination, I suffered hypoglycaemia and due to that, I lost some marks because I could not concentrate, but still secured 630 points. Now, I have got GMC, Baramulla for MBBS but I have applied for up-gradation to SKIMS, let’s see if that happens,” he said.
When asked about what he was intending to do by pursuing a medical profession, he said that he wants to understand the point of view of patients suffering from diabetes in a better way. “Now that I am going for MBBS, in future I want to become an endocrinologist and help patients who are facing things like me because I’d be able to understand them better; I would be able to understand their point of view. I want to pursue research and try to look for a long-term, sustained cure for diabetes”, he said.