Greetings!

I would like to thank the editors for extending an opportunity to shed light on the past 20 years of my life, and share it with the readers of this prestigious journal. Hailing from the hearty province of Punjab, in Pakistan, my childhood memories are studded with mouthwatering delicacies, colorful events, large family gathering, and late-night tea sessions with neighborhood friends. Being the eldest of the three sons to a gastroenterologist physician and a maxillofacial surgeon, a large part of my summer vacations and leisure time was spent in hospitals. Having seen children in pain and refusing treatment, all while living through the above myself, during cannulation and blood-drawing procedures, I took it upon myself to find a solution to trypanophobia. I deem myself lucky to have met an encouraging mentor, such as Asad I. Mian—who led the Creative Critical Innovative Thinking (CCIT) club at my medical school, The Aga Khan University. The problem was highlighted in a Pediatrics-based Hackathon at my institute, and the idea further incubated at CCIT—resulting in the first prototype of the proposed model. Despite meeting failure initially, the team delved into finding other potentially low-cost, low-tech solutions to the stated problems—resulting in the final laboratory tested, and approved prototype, awaiting clinical trials. As interesting innovating and learning medicine is, cooking and cricket remains very close to my heart. I have spent innumerable hours watching test cricket—even in the darkest hours of the night, as Pakistan played in Australasia, with a cup of freshly brewed tea, all while commenting and analyzing the movement of the red cherry, ball by ball. To all those reading, I personally believe that it is imperative to follow your passion and pursue your hobbies, to ensure stable mental health, which will reflect positively in your clinical practice. As for innovation, the key to success lies in acknowledging failures and moving on, till you achieve what you truly desire.

Cheers,

Mir Ibrahim Sajid

The Aga Khan University