Feb 23 - Ballito Umhl
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SHAFIQUE & AYESHA<br />
Dr Shafique Sayed and Dr Ayesha<br />
Seedat met as medical students at<br />
Wits Medical School and got married<br />
in their fifth year. They have been<br />
together ever since and will this<br />
year celebrate their 25th wedding<br />
anniversary! After studying together,<br />
the couple survived a gruelling two<br />
years of internship and community<br />
service together. After specialising,<br />
they began working together<br />
again, which they have done for<br />
the past 15 years. Shafique and<br />
Ayesha have two children, Suhail<br />
(21), who is currently a third-year<br />
student in mechatronic/mechanical<br />
engineering at UCT, and Nabila (17),<br />
who is currently in matric at Ashton<br />
College. They moved to <strong>Ballito</strong> from<br />
Johannesburg 16 years ago to enjoy<br />
the sun, sea and a child-friendly<br />
town.<br />
Tell us about your job and what you<br />
each do.<br />
Shafique has been a gynaecologist in<br />
private practice at Alberlito Hospital<br />
for the past 15 years.<br />
The biggest pro has<br />
been the effect on our<br />
family life with our<br />
kids.<br />
“I stopped delivering babies<br />
seven years ago to focus solely on<br />
female gynae care. My passion is<br />
laparoscopic and minimally-invasive<br />
vaginal surgery.”<br />
Ayesha, who has a Master’s degree<br />
in public health, is Shafique’s fulltime<br />
surgical assistant and manages<br />
the practice. “I joined Shafique<br />
temporarily at Alberlito to help him<br />
get his practice up and running<br />
and just never left! In addition,<br />
I periodically assist a few other<br />
surgeons at Alberlito Hospital as<br />
well.”<br />
Pros and cons of working together?<br />
“The biggest pro has been the effect<br />
on our family life with our kids. The<br />
flexibility of me being available for<br />
our kids, especially when they were younger, was a huge advantage,” says<br />
Ayesha.<br />
“We tried to structure work so I was available for all parent meetings and<br />
extracurricular activities, and was just across the road if ever they were sick.<br />
We could also structure our cases so we’d both be there for important events.”<br />
One of the cons, Shafique says, is that being together all of the time can be<br />
challenging. “Over the years we’ve learnt to respect one another’s skills and<br />
personal space, though. Taking work home is another struggle. Given the<br />
nature of my work it’s unavoidable at times, especially if I need to operate afterhours<br />
and Ayesha is assisting. But we’ve tried to separate non-urgent work and<br />
home life where possible,” he says.<br />
Details: Dr Shafique Sayed, Alberlito Hospital, www.ballitogynae.com, sayedpractice@<br />
gmail.com, 032 946 6979, 067 822 0543<br />
<strong>Feb</strong>ruary 20<strong>23</strong> Get It • <strong>Ballito</strong> • Umdloti • <strong>Umhl</strong>anga 15
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