“When I decided to become a doctor, I was very, very young, when my mot...” — Hawa Abdi Quote

“When I decided to become a doctor, I was very, very young, when my mother, her seventh child, became pregnant, and she was feeling terrible pain, and I could not know how to help her. And my mother died in front of my eyes, without knowing why, which diagnosis. So I decided to be a doctor.”

“The long-term solution in preventing another famine in Somalia is to promote self-reliance.”

“We women in Somalia are trying to be leaders in our community.”

“I have big hope for the Canadian government to help Somalia with something concrete and tangible. I haven't seen that.”

“And then they sign an affidavit swearing that she's not in a vegetative stage. I'll tell you. That's a doctor you really want; they can look at a picture and make a diagnosis.”

“For mental illnesses, we need better access to treatment and diagnosis.”

“This diagnosis can be done in about two lines. It doesn't engage anybody.”

“In diagnosis think of the easy first.”

“Now, to anyone with even half a brain, a newspaper apologizing because a reporter did some reporting makes about as much sense as a doctor apologizing because he gave someone a diagnosis.”

“For me, I think that there's a lot missing from the recovery or the post-diagnosis side of treating patients. Once the diagnosis is made, I feel that care drops off tremendously, even though it is precisely the time that a patient needs help the most, even if they are not verbalizing it.”