From Mohamed Zaky, Margie's husband
Here is a brief history of my family. I have to write a book to write it in more details. Please add it to the ‘Three Couples’ story.
My birth name is 'Mohamed Saeed Hussein Zaki'. I was born in Cairo, Egypt on 10/17/1951 to my father Saeed Hussein Zaki (he worked as a Medical Assistant for just few years then graduated from college as a Social Worker and worked in the government Youth Department until he retired) and my mother Tahia Mahmoud Hassan (a housewife nicknamed by her grandkids as Tooty). My older sister Magda was born on 12/1949, then another sister Iman (Mamy) born on 6/1955 and brother Ehab (Happy) born on 4/1964.
I graduated from Military Technical College in Cairo on 6/16/1974 as a first lieutent officer and an Electronic Engineer. I worked for the Egyptian Air Force at the Main Air Force Depot in Cairo. In 1978 I started my Computer Software career. Then on Memorial Day of 1982 I arrived at US with a group from the Egyptian Air Force to study and work on the Air Force Computer Automation project. First we worked at Washington D.C. metropolitan area for one month. Then we moved to Dallas to continue our education and work.
On July 1982 I met my wife Margarett Annetta Zaky (Margie) for the first time. She was the assistant manager of the apartment complex we moved to in North Dallas. At the end of the month Margie and I became good friends. Margie was previously married in 1969, separated in 1978 and divorced in 1979.
The Egyptian work team decided to move back to the D.C. area to complete the work assignment. Margie and I were in love and decided to get married on Valentine’s Day 2/14/1983. Therefore I got my green card with my name as ‘Mohamed Said Zaky’. At that time I was considered absent without leave from the Egyptian Air Force.
I started looking for a job right after we got married. Margie quit her apartment management job in April 1983 because we thought I will find a job very soon. By October 1983 when I was still looking for a job Margie had to go back to work. Then I got my first break with a Computer Consulting company from Kansas City. They found me a contract for hire in Hartford, Connecticut. In January 1984 Margie quit her job and we moved to Connecticut to start my first American job. On my first day of work Margie found that she is pregnant with our first child. On 9/25/1984 Diana Renee was born in Manchester, Connecticut. My parents came and visited us in Connecticut just few weeks after Diana was born. At that time I found that the Egyptian military already court marshaled me in my absence and issued the standard military punishment three years in the officer prison.
In 9/1985 I found a job in Dallas and we moved back to Garland, Texas for six months then in 4/1986 to The Colony, Texas where we still live. My son Adam Brian was born on 12/19/1987 just three months after I became a U.S. citizen in 9/1987. In summer of 1988 we travelled to Athens, Greece and visited with my parents, sisters and brother and their families. In 1991 we vacationed in southern California and Disneyland and in Miami Beach, Florida. Then in 1995 we vacationed in Orlando and Disney World.
My father Saeed got the Alzheimer disease in his early seventies and due to a wrong prescription in 1995 he got into a comma for three months before he died. My older sister Magda also got the cancer disease right after my father death. Margie’s father Harrell passed away in November 1997.
In 1998 after the school was out we’ve decided to visit my relatives in Egypt. Due to my old military status I was captured by the Egyptian authorities in Cairo Airport in front of my family. Margie and the kids spent 25 days in Cairo with my sisters and brother then came back to Dallas. I spent 20 months in that military prison and tried all different avenues to get my freedom without any success. My sister Magda died in August 1999 while I was still in prison. During that time Margie just lived on our little savings and borrowed money from relatives. Also my son Adam started his social withdrawal. Margie started to take Adam to Psychiatrists and Psychologists.
In January of 2000 I returned home and got my job back right away. During 2002 the kids and I started noticing Margie’s memory problems. At that time Margie went to a Neurologist, did the brain MRI and found no problems. In January 2003 my mother passed away in her sleep.
In 2003 Diana graduated from High School with great honors and joined North Texas University with a full scholarship. Adam’s social problems started to get even worse when he went to the regular High School in 2002. In 2003 the High School had to transfer Adam to the District Learning Center for more controlled treatment environment which failed to help him. In 2004 I transferred him to a Special Education school in Dallas where he graduated from in July 2006. During that period Adam was still going to Psychiatrists and Psychologists to help him finish school and prepare for his future. All of these visits plus the Special Education school failed in his treatment and once he finished the High School he couldn’t communicate with anyone except his parents. Therefore he stayed home permanently and started getting the disability Medicaid assistance. I take care of all of his needs.
In December of 2007 Diana graduated from College as a Graphic Designer. Lottie, David, Carmen, Christie and Josh attended Diana’s graduation. Diana moved from Denton, Texas to Carrollton, Texas where she still lives.
Margie’s memory problems got worth and worth between 2002 and 2004. In 2005 all doctors who examined her already determined that she got a very early age Alzheimer disease. In 2007 Margie got to the final stage of the disease stage 7 and we were forced to place her in a nursing home because of the continuous need for medical assistance. Now Margie lives in Pilot Point Care Center in Pilot Point, Texas. She can’t talk anymore and her arms and her legs are almost paralyzed. She is always either in bed or in the wheelchair. It is very hard to tell if she can remember any of her family members. She has a feeding tube and a colostomy bag. She always breathes from her mouth because she already forgot how to breathe from her nose. I visit her every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday and I wash her cloths. Her kids visit her on the last Sunday of every month. I constantly pray for her permanent cure.
Diana finally found a job on September 2008 as a Graphic Designer at a company called Funimation in Flower Mound, Texas. But because of the economy problems her company let her go in January 2009. Then they hired her back in October 2009 where she is currently works.
Currently I work at Bank of America for the Technology team in Addison, Texas where I’ve been working since 1994.
Thanks
Mohamed Zaky
No comments:
Post a Comment