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A couple of t-stormsBusiness
Superwoman Nighat Awan
Shere courage
Shelina Begum26/ 6/2003
SOME people may consider Nighat Awan the driving force behind
the Shere Khan food concern to be a superwoman.
She would says she is an ordinary woman with an extraordinary
desire to overcome life's obstacles and succeed in her motherhood
and work.
You judge for yourself. After beating cancer and then the deadly
motor neuron disease as well as raising three children and at the
same time running the multi-million pound Shere Khan food industry,
the 48-year-old business woman has lived a type of roller coaster
life that many other would have 'fallen off'.She has now become an
inspiration to women in the Asian community, in business world and
suffering from cancer.
In her next engagement Nighat will be sharing a platform with
former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam and author of "The
Female Eunuch" Germaine Green.
For many people a serious health problem would put paid to
ambitious business plans. But Nighat's no ordinary woman.
In her early, health, life she created several successful
businesses from high fashion to floristry.
She met her husband Rafique and together they founded the now
famous Shere Khan empire that started from the Rusholme restaurant
of the same name.
It was then Nighat faced her most monumental battle. She was a
mother of three young children, leading a frantically busy life. So
a pain in the throat was not something that would immediately force
her to seek medical advice. But it persisted and she finally
visited her GP. The verdict - thyroid cancer.
Said Nighat; "It was 12 years ago. I was shocked and gutted, I
cried a lot but then I decided this thing would not ruin my
existence. I decided to fight back."
She won. After two years of chemo-therapy, a mountain of pain
killers and tremendous support from family and friends she was
declared clear.
Then cam a second 'death sentence'.
"I started feeling ill again. People told me it was probably just
the after affects of the cancer. But then I started losing feelings
in my arms and legs. I went back to the doctors and they diagnosed
a motor neuron infection which eventually paralysed the entire left
side of my body.
"It was a devastating blow for me especially as I had just beaten
cancer.
"It was an awful feeling to gradually lose feeling in my
body.
"But despite the illnesses I never thought of giving up and kept on
fighting.
"What was the point of me just sitting around feeling sorry for
myself, that was just too easy.
"Getting back to normality was the hard part and that's what I
wanted to do. I didn't want people feeling pity for me and as I
tried to be positive so did my family and friends around me which
really helped.
"I was still being consulted about business matters daily and I
still had a say about my children's upbringing.
"I realised that being in a normal environment helped. Slowly I
began to feel better.
"When I recovered from the second illness I went back to work
taking a lead role in my husband's business and also being there
for my kids."
Despite her tremendous courage and fortitude Nighat appreciates she
is one of the very lucky sufferers to survive and now she wants to
give something back.
She is an ambassador for Cancer Research and CanceBacup where she
talks to women suffering from the disease inspiring them not to
give way.
She said: "I was lucky in that I could go to work whenever I want
and leave if I felt tired. Only two weeks ago I was in hospital
because of a blocked artery, after two weeks rest I was back at
work. I don't let it bother me I just carry on because in life
that's all you can do, carry on and get on with it."
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