A Christmas Day Miracle The True Story of One Man’s Yuletide Triumph Over Death
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Dean & Talya Rotbart
A Christmas Day Miracle: The True Story of One Man’s Yuletide Triumph Over Death Copyright © 2022 TJFR Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission the the publisher. First Edition ISBN: 978-1-956928-01-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2021924099 Christmas / Inspirational / Health / Canadian Design: TimeInABottlePhotography.com Published by TJFR Press, Inc. ATTN: Dean and Talya Rotbart 200 Quebec Street Bldg. 300, Suite 111-26 Denver, CO 80230
A Christmas Day Miracle The True Story of One Man’s Yuletide Triumph Over Death
By Dean and Talya Rotbart
Introduction Miracles come in every variety. Big or small, dramatic or subtle, they benefit adults and children in every corner of the planet. It doesn’t matter what religion you belong to or even if you are a person of faith. Blessings can and will find you. That is always true. But when miracles occur on Christmas Day, they are extra special. So it is that the family and friends of 59-year-old Riyaz Adat will always remember and retell the story of Christmas Day 2013 when the fates aligned to rescue Riyaz from the approaching hand of Malak ul Maut. In the Islamic religion — into which Riyaz was born in Tanzania in 1954 — Malak ul Maut is the angel who reclaims souls and returns them to the Lord. In Western cultures, it is more commonly referred to as the Angel of Death. Withering in a bed at Toronto General Hospital, his liver destroyed by a rare autoimmune disease and his body overcome with pain, it seemed unlikely that Riyaz would live to greet the New Year. If he were to make it, Riyaz would need a miracle, the kind that Hollywood regularly produces but is far less common in real life. At 5:00 a.m. on Christmas Day, snow lightly falling outdoors and temperatures a frosty 3° Fahrenheit, Riyaz’s primary physician spoke to his sickly patient. “I hope you believe in Santa Claus,” the doctor smiled. At that point, it was only candid to say that Riyaz did not.
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Improbable Lives The story of Riyaz and Margaret Adat is one of a young man and woman — from two distinctly separate cultures and regions of the world — who meet in a new land and together defy convention and overcome obstacles time and again. Born in Dar es Salaam to parents of Indian descent, Riyaz and his family fled Tanzania for England in the wake of the East African country’s accelerating oppression of ethnic minorities. Eventually, in 1974, the Adats arrived as near-penniless immigrants in Canada. Not long after his arrival, Riyaz met Margaret Moore — herself, her younger sister, and her parents, also recent immigrants to Canada. Margaret grew up in Glasgow, Scotland — one of six daughters of a bus driver and a seamstress. For much of her early childhood, she and her family had no bathroom or hot water in their tiny, government-subsidized rental. The four Moores emigrated to Canada in search of economic advancement. As improbable as it seemed to anyone who didn’t know Riyaz and Margaret well, theirs was a perfect match. Forget their superficial differences. The couple shared core values, including unfailing dedication to family, the vital importance of education, gratitude for all of their advantages (without dwelling on what they lacked), and a solid commitment to helping others less fortunate than they. Riyaz was Hollywood handsome. Think Omar Sharif, without the trademark mustache. Darkly complected, Riyaz had an engaging demeanor, complemented by a beaming smile and almond-shaped brown eyes that radiated an inner kindness. Margaret had Maureen O’Hara-red hair, featuring bangs that flirted with her perfectly arched eyebrows. Paired with her sparkling blue eyes and petite frame, she, too, could have been mistaken for a silver screen star. Riyaz and Margaret were married atop a waterfront hotel in downtown Toronto in June 1980. 6
It has not been easy locating a minister willing to perform a non-denominational, interreligious ceremony. Such marriages were still uncommon in Canada — joining a Presbyterian (Margaret) with an Ismaili Muslim (Riyaz). Fortunately, Riyaz and Margaret happened upon “The Marrying Minister,” an elderly clergyman who earned his moniker because of the numerous ceremonies he had officiated without regard to ethnicity or religion. “Mixed marriages are a very good thing because they break down prejudice,” the minister preached. “Make your marriage a competition of who in your couple can give the most.” To their credit, Riyaz and Margaret took his counsel to heart.
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while Riyaz was still recovering. In July 2018, Riyaz received the most potent health boost of all, the birth of his and Margaret’s first grandchild, Kiyomi Sabrina Adat. Kiyomi, still a toddler, is a sweet, loving, precocious, and luminescent child who brightens the lives of everyone she encounters. There can be no doubt, Riyaz Adat, affluent in family and friends, grateful each day to be alive, is a walking, breathing, Christmas Day miracle.
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Author’s Note A Christmas Day Miracle is adapted from our fuller biography of Margaret and Riyaz Adat, Improbable Lives: A Scot, A Tanzanian, and Their Canadian Love Story. We first met the Adats in 2017 and immediately knew that their life stories were ones that would offer inspiration and hope to others who could relate to their humble beginnings, charitable souls, and ability to face down whatever challenges arose. This book is the third “spin-off ” rooted in the actual events depicted in Improbable Lives. Recalling Riyaz’s boundless spirit of curiosity and exploration as a child, Talya is the author of The Adventures of Riyaz, a semi-biographical series of children’s books that have been translated into more than a half-dozen languages, including Spanish, French, Chinese, Korean, and Swahili. Together, the two of us published Perfectly Ordinary, Yet Extraordinary: Making a Meaningful Difference in the Lives of Others. The book recounts how Margaret and Riyaz, on their own, set about helping a woebegone school in far off Arusha, Tanzania, to improve the quality of school life for both the students and faculty. Eventually, the Adats’ homegrown project was adopted as an undertaking of the Rotary Club of Willowdale (Ontario) and gained the worldwide attention of Rotary Club International.
Dean & Talya Rotbart
Denver, Colorado
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“A Christmas Day Miracle is an inspirational adult yuletide tale that offers hope to everyone — regardless of their religious beliefs — about the wonder and power of life’s unexpected blessings.” About the Book This is the true story of Riyaz Adat, a happily married entrepreneur and the father of two. An Ismaili Muslim, Riyaz was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to parents of Indian descent. He and his family immigrated to Canada in the 1970s. As Christmas 2013 approached, Riyaz was on death’s doorstep, withering away in excruciating pain in the transplant ward of Toronto General Hospital. Riyaz was second on the list to receive the liver of a man, a total stranger, who had recently died. Second, however, might not be enough to save Riyaz’s life. On Christmas morning, snow was falling lightly and the temperature was a frosty 3° Fahrenheit. Riyaz’s physician arrived at his bedside at 5:00 a.m. “I hope you believe in Santa Claus,” the doctor smiled. At that point, it was only candid to say that Riyaz did not. As the title of this book signals, Riyaz and the Adat family were in for an unforgettable Christmas. Big or small, dramatic or subtle, miracles benefit adults and children in every corner of the planet. That is always true. But when they occur on Christmas Day, miracles are extra special.
About the Authors Dean Rotbart is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated former reporter and columnist with The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of September Twelfth: An American Comeback Story. Along with his wife, Talya, he is also the author of Improbable Lives: A Scot, A Tanzanian, and Their Canadian Love Story, a biography of Margaret and Riyaz Adat, and Perfectly Ordinary, Yet Extraordinary: Making a Meaningful Difference in the Lives of Others. Since 2012, Dean has served as host and executive producer of Monday Morning Radio, a weekly business-to-business podcast. He is also chairman and editor-in-chief of the News Luminary Awards, which recognize outstanding achievements by journalists.
Talya Rotbart, a talented vocalist and painter, writes children’s books and is a romance novelist.
$12.25 ISBN 978-1-956928-01-3
Her book, The Boy Who Answered the Call of Kilimanjaro, has been translated into Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Swahili, and Mandarin (Simple and Traditional). 9 781956 928013
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