Miracle Loops
A Biography Based on the Life and Writings of Fanaye Dirasse
by
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It seems just like yesterday that I was sitting at my sister, Fanaye (Fani) Dirasse’s bedside at the Virginia Hospital Centre. It was such a lovely July morning when Fani and I were laughing and discussing the book we hoped to write together. She was still recovering from her second brain surgery in a month. We had chosen “Miracle Loops” as the title to reflect her remarkable life and the numerous miracle loops of recovery she had gone through over the years. These include:
• The saga around her twelve fingers at birth
• Suffering third degree burns twice, first as a two-year old and again thirty-three years later.
• Donating a kidney to a stranger
• Suffering a stroke 6 months later
• Three brain surgeries over a period of five years
• Diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.
There is no doubt that these accidents and procedures have left marks and scars that go much deeper than the physical. Yet, as Fani glided and at times flew through her miracle loops of recovery, she came out with heightened care and love for others. Her infectious smile and zest for life continued to inspire all she came across.
My heart is heavy with grief as I try to recollect those last days, yet I am also heartened knowing that I was lucky to have had such a vivacious, generous and loving woman for my sister. Indeed throughout her life, Fani personified Emily Dickinson’s poem:
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
Born in Ethiopia, she came to the United States after finishing tenth grade, completed high school in Fargo, North Dakota and university in Moorhead, Minnesota. Though her goal was to return to Ethiopia to teach, her dreams were shattered by the 1974 Marxist revolution that executed her father and imprisoned her mother. She became an American citizen and pursued a successful teaching career of over a decade in Fort Dodge Iowa. In later years she opened an Educational Center that provided tutorial services in Silverspring, Maryland and finally in Alexandria, Virginia.
A dedicated and accomplished teacher, she inspired and helped many students to succeed in their studies and chosen careers. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honorable mentions including being the Iowa finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science and mathematics Teaching.
The pains and suffering she experienced and the miracle loops she seemed to glide through carried her forward intensifying her understanding of what really matters in life. She loved God; she loved life and lived it to the fullest caring for, loving, and inspiring all she came across.
Fani dared to live every moment of her life to the full. In her own words:
The world was, is and always will be! The world is for me and not against me! The world is better if it’s with me in it than without me! I was put into this world to search for the purpose of my existence. Therefore, basing my LIFE on the universal principle of its goodness, I dare to live life. MY LIFE to its fullest!
BE ME!
WHO I WANT TO BE!
WHERE I WANT TO BE!
WHEN I WANT TO BE!
WHY I WANT TO BE!
ME, JUST ME!
In a world that lives every which way,
I DARE TO LIVE IT MY WAY!
In a world that controls,
I DARE TO BE IN CONTROL OF MY DESTINY!
In a world full of limitations,
I DARE TO CREATE POSSIBILITIES!
In a world that doubts,
I DARE TO BELIEVE!
In a world lacking purpose,
I DARE TO DEFINE MY EXISTENCE!
In a world full of differences,
I DARE TO BE UNIQUE!
In a world that ties down,
I DARE TO LET GO!
In a world of ignorance,
I DARE TO BE ENLIGHTENED!
In a nonsensical world,
I DARE TO MAKE SENSE!
In a hopeless world,
I DARE TO BE HOPEFUL!
In a world without time,
I DARE TO MAKE TIME AND TAKE TIME!
In a gloomy world,
I DARE TO SHINE!
In a dividing world,
I DARE TO UNIFY!
In a world that hides,
I DARE TO SEEK!
In a destructive world,
I DARE TO PRESERVE!
In a regressive world,
I DARE TO BE PROGRESSIVE!
In a losing world,
I DARE TO BE TRIUMPHANT!
In a troubled world,
I DARE TO BE A TROUBLESHOOTER!
In a world that is violent,
I DARE TO BE NON-VIOLENT!
In a world waiting for miracles,
I DARE TO BE A MIRACLE WORKER!
In a world that wants to spoon feed,
I DARE TO FEED MYSELF!
In a world full of problems,
I DARE TO BE A PROBLEM SOLVER!
IN A WORLD THAT NEEDS,
I dare to be needed!
IN A LOVING WORLD,
I dare to love and be loved!
IN A TOUCHING WORLD,
I dare to touch and be touched
IN A SHARING WORLD,
I dare to give my fair share!
IN A WORKING WORLD,
I dare to be industrious!
IN A VALUABLE WORLD,
I dare to have values!
IN A WORLD OF INVESTMENTS,
I dare to earn great dividends!
IN A GROWING WORLD,
I dare to be fruitful!
IN A TRUSTING WORLD,
I dare to be trustworthy!
IN A WORLD THAT IS EVER PRESENT,
I DARE TO MAKE MY PRESENCE FELT
I DARE TO LIVE.”
Fanaye Dirasse, 1985
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About the Book
Miracle Loops is a heart wrenching yet uplifting biography of Fanaye Dirasse, a steadfast and resilient woman who endured many life challenges and traumatic experiences while devoting her life to help others.
Born in Ethiopia, she came to the United States for her education with hopes of returning home to teach. Her dreams were shattered by the 1974 Marxist revolution. The military junta executed her father and imprisoned her mother. Fanaye became an American citizen, and pursued a successful teaching career in Iowa. Years later, she opened an Education Center in Maryland and finally in Virginia. A dedicated and award winning teacher, she helped and inspired many students to succeed in their studies and chosen careers.
Fanaye lived with the results of many tragic events that included: suffering third degree burns thirty three years apart, suffering a stroke six months after donating a kidney to a stranger, and undergoing three brain surgeries over the next decade. Despite her pain and suffering, her faith carried her forward intensifying her understanding of what really matters in life. She loved God and loved life, living it to the fullest, caring for, loving, and inspiring all she came across.
About the Author
Laketch Dirasse earned a bachelor’s degree from Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and a master’s and doctoral degree from Boston University. She has worked and written on women’s rights, management, development, displacement, and conflict and peace issues, and has lived and worked in Africa, the United States, Switzerland, and Canada.