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Fasting or No Fasting?

By

Zareen Choudhury

•

Panel 1: A woman with long hair and a backpack stands at a lab check-in counter. Text: Last year, I had to take a blood test for Lupus during Ramadan. Panel 2: The woman talks to another woman behind the counter. Woman 2: Fasting or no fasting? Woman 1: Uh...fasting. Woman 2: You didn't have to fast for this test. Woman 1: Uhh...I'm not fasting for the test.
Panel 1: The woman behind the counter asks if the woman checking in is on a juice cleans or doing intermittent fasting. The person checking in says "No, no, Ramadan!" Panel 2: The woman checking in sits on a bench and holds a cell phone. Text: I texted my brother while waiting to be called. Like all doctors from South Asian families, he enjoyed the privilege of answering all our health inquiries on demand.
Panel 1: A cell phone screen shows a conversation between the woman and her brother. Woman: The doctor thinks I might have lupus. Waiting for the bloodtest. Brother: What tests did they order? Woman: IDK. Brother: Do you have a facerash? Woman: Ya something like that. Panel 2: The woman wears a backwards baseball cap and collared shirt. She holds a pokéball from the Pokémon franchise in the air. She says "Gotta catch 'em all!" Text: Over the past year, I'd accumulated various unexplained health issues. Now the doctor was saying Lupus could be the common thread.
Panel 1: Two women stand underneath a banner that says "Bangladeshi Women With Lupus Club." Text: I remembered reading that NYC councilmember Shahana Hanif had Lupus. Could this be the start of our budding friendship? Panel 2: A nurse says "Miss Choo-dah-ree!" Text: My spiral was interrupted by a nurse verbally slaughtering my name.
Panel 1: A nurse asks if the woman is fasting. The woman she is fasting for Ramadan. The nurse says "huh, Ramada? No need to fast." Text: She took me to the blood-drawing room, where I experienced deja vu talking to the phlebotomist. Panel 2: The woman's floating head says "Sorry, am I stuck in a time loop?"
Panel 1: The woman sits in a chair with her eyes closed. A needle is in her arm. She thinks "you've got this, you've got this, you've got this." Text: We proceeded with the blood draw anyway. Panel 2: Two grayed-out heads float in the center of the panel. Text: About halfway through the test, things started going south. I realized that
Panel 1: The woman's head floats. Her eyes are closed and curved lines are coming out from her ears. The text "RIIIIIING!" is above her head. Text: My ears were ringing. Panel 2: The woman is underwater with chains hanging from her feet. A fish swims by. Text: ...And I was having trouble breathing.
Panel 1: The woman closes her eyes and yells "AUGHH!" Text: I summoned my last brain cell to cry out for help. Panel 2: The woman has a conversation with the phlebotomist, who wants her to drink water. The woman refuses and says it's Ramadan. The phlebotomist insists she drink water.
Panel 1: The woman stands in front of a blackboard that says Islam 101. Text: I realized I couldn't explain the entirety of Islam in the middle of the blood draw. Panel 2: The woman takes a drink of water and thinks "May Allah forgive me." Text: I took the water, broke my fast, and completed the blood draw.
Panel 1: The woman crawls away from the lab, gasping and huffing and weezing. Text: I left the lab feeling exhausted. Panel 1: The woman's head floats in the center of the frame. She is frowning. Text: Exhausted of feeling unseen as a Muslim woman...
Panel 1: The woman is underwater. Chains hang from her arms and legs, with weights labeled "Chronic Pain" and "Misdiagnosis" hanging from the chains. Text: Exhausted of feeling suffocated by the healthcare system... Panel 2: The woman's head floats in the center of the frame. The text "CHOO-DA-REE!" floats above her head. Text: ...and exhausted of creative mispronunciations of my name
Panel: A calendar shows the end of Ramadan in one box and a health scare in the adjacent box. Text: In the end, I didn't have Lupus after all. But next time I decide to have a health scare...I'll be sure to schedule it outside Ramadan.

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Zareen Choudhury
Zareen Choudhury is a Bangladeshi American cartoonist based in San Francisco. Her interests lie in using art, humor, and storytelling to uplift marginalized voices and create community through shared experiences. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and The Nib, and showcased at the Cartoon Art Museum, Silver Sprocket, and more. Zareen has been recognized as a Creative in Residence at The Ruby, Guest Cartoonist at the Charles Schulz Museum, Showcase Artist at Kearny Street Workshop, and member of the National Cartoonists Society. Follow her at www.zareenchoudhury.com.

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