For many, graduation day is one of life’s happiest milestones. It is a moment meant to be shared with family, especially parents who have supported every step of the journey.
But fate had a different plan for 24 year old Siti Ruqyah Adnan.
Just three hours before she was scheduled to receive her degree at the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah (UniSHAMS) convocation ceremony on November 2, she received the heartbreaking news that her father, Adnan Yasin, had passed away.
“I cried in the car, but I forced myself to go on stage”
Speaking to Harian Metro, Siti Ruqyah said she was devastated upon receiving the call from her sister informing her that her father had died that morning.
I cried in the car after receiving the news, but I forced myself to go on stage because becoming a doctor was my late father’s dream,” she said.
Despite the grief weighing on her, she chose to stay strong, reminding herself that this moment was something her father had always hoped to witness.
Her father was healthy days earlier
Siti Ruqyah, who received her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, shared that her 76 year old father had been in good health prior to his passing.
In fact, he had personally sent her to board the bus to Kedah for her convocation on October 26.
On the morning of the ceremony itself, she was busy getting ready and had not checked her phone until her sister’s call came in at 7am.
She initially wanted to rush home, but after encouragement from her friends and remembering her father’s wish, she decided to complete the ceremony before returning to Kelantan with assistance from the university management.
Father cared for her bedridden mother for years
She also revealed that her father had told her he would not be able to attend her graduation because he needed to care for her mother, who has suffered from stroke for six years.
At the time of his passing, her brother was caring for both parents at their home in Kampung Sri Aman, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, while the rest of her siblings had travelled to Kedah to celebrate her special day.
According to her brother, their father had performed dawn prayers and recited the Quran as usual that morning, but soon complained of chest pain before being pronounced dead at Hospital Tengku Anis in Pasir Puteh.
“We were shocked and saddened by his passing, but we accept it,” she said.
Determined to fulfil her late father’s dream
Although the tragedy struck on what was supposed to be her proudest day, Siti Ruqyah remains steadfast in her goal of becoming a doctor, a dream her father always held for her.
Her late father was a retired school principal who strongly believed in her potential.
The youngest of 10 siblings, she now hopes to secure a job placement in Kelantan so she can continue caring for her mother, who depends on special milk and diapers.
