Eulogy: Mehr Shaikh

Mehr Shaikh 
29th June 1979 – 10th May 2020  
MBBS (2003), MRCP (2007), FRACP (2017)

By Dr Kannan Natarajan  

Mehr Shaikh was born in Bengaluru, India.  From what we know of her, Mehr was always keen on being a medical doctor and wanted to study medicine from a young age.  She followed that dream and graduated from the prestigious Manipal University with honours.  

To further her study, initially Mehr migrated to the United Kingdom and was able to complete her higher medical training in various sub-specialities.  She gained Membership of the Royal College of Physicians. It appears that Mehr was not posted to positions in the same city as her husband.    

Mehr had married in 2005 and travelled to Australia in 2008. In Brisbane, she started work at the Redland Hospital. Due to her passion for caring for older adults, she chose geriatric medicine training. Subsequently, she became a fellow and Mehr worked at St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Belmont Private hospital and in private practice at Hamilton.  

Apart from medicine, Mehr had many other interests. One significant achievement and life event was that she hiked the Ben Lomond (Tasmania) and Roy’s Peak (New Zealand).  She was also a keen runner, cyclist, and all-round fitness enthusiast.   She was also a loving mother to her two boys - Ashaaz (11) and Zayaan (6).   Life was no doubt remarkably busy for the whole family with Mehr’s husband (Wasim Shaikh) working as a psychiatrist.  

Her family connections were strong with her parents, who still live in India. She and her family found strength in these connections while she lived with a rare neurodegenerative disorder.  

Mehr was totally focussed on her work as a medical practitioner. She had to do many things to overcome the multiple obstacles that were between her and the goal she had set for herself.  As we say, she was no stranger to jumping through hoops as she trained here in Australia and elsewhere. I count it a privilege to have known her and to have been part of her medical training journey.  Her approach to patients was kind and sympathetic and to staff courteous. Mehr was an excellent listener and had a remarkable facility in relating to her patients.   

Sadly, as we all know Mehr is no longer with us.  In January 2019, she first experienced symptoms of Bulbar onset Motor Neurone Disease with the diagnosis being made in April.   She was not scared of death but as many mother’s in her situation was concerned about losing the capacity to care for her children. She was a wonderful and kind person irrespective of how things were going for her.  

She bore the illness with cheerfulness and fortitude, memorably attending the ANZSGM – Annual Scientific Meeting in 2019. Mehr took the approach of enjoying what she could and stayed engaged with medical updates until October 2019. As the disease progressed, Mehr was determined to reach out to her peers & colleagues. Despite being on a ventilator and losing function of her limbs, she maintained her smile and texted cheery words of comfort to those who she cared and warmed all she had contact with. Mehr was courageous and knew how the final chapter of her life will be. She wanted to die on your own terms and informed her treating team to withdraw ventilator support on Mother’s Day!  

In her short career, Mehr earned the respect of her medical colleagues, the gratitude of her patients and the affection of her staff. She will be particularly missed by many of her patients. Her name ‘Mehr’ meant blessing. She was a blessing to her family, friends & colleagues. Let us commemorate the life of Mehr by supporting MND and Me Foundation.