August 26, 2021 - Brooklyn Downtown Star

Three Stars of the Week: August 20th – 26th

webadmin on August 26, 2021

Henrik Lundqvist – Rangers

On Friday, former Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist officially announced his retirement from the NHL. Lundqvist spent his entire 15-year career playing for the Rangers, where he became a fan favorite and club legend. Lundqvist finished his career with 459 wins, the 6th most in NHL history and most by a non-Canadian goalie. His 887 games played are the 8th most in the NHL and led active players before his retirement. Lundqvist was a key part of the Rangers teams that made a Stanley Cup push in 2014 and deep playoff run in 2015. His heroics in net saved the team countless times. Hank was named to 5 All-Star teams, won the Vezina trophy in 2012, and helped lead the Rangers to the President’s Trophy in 2015. His jersey will be raised to the rafters at Madison Square Garden in the upcoming season.

Luke Voit – Yankees

A competition seems to have broken out between the Yankees first basemen as Luke Voit hopes to keep his playing time after the arrival of Anthony Rizzo. Over the last week, Voit’s hitting has played a huge role in a wild Yankees winning streak. In their series against the Twins, Voit was on fire as he recorded 2 RBI on Thursday’s 7-5 win, 4 on Friday’s 10-2 win, and another 2 on Saturday in a 7-1 win. Behind their red-hot bats, the Yanks jumped to 2nd in the AL East and a Wild Card spot.

Zach Wilson – Jets

It’s only preseason, but Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson is looking sharp. Over the last week, the Jets were in Green Bay for a joint practice with the Packers before their preseason game. Wilson went 9/11 for 128 yards and 2 TD as NY came out on top against a tough team, 23-14. While he’s yet to take a real NFL snap, he could lead the Jets in the right direction. New York are once again underdogs going into the year, but Wilson seems ready to turn some heads. Perhaps now the Jets truly have their franchise quarterback.

“Life Interrupted,” a book dedicated to self reflection on life

glendaleregstg on August 26, 2021

Dr. Manu Dua, a renowned dentist based in Canada passed away this past March at the age of 34 and his sister Dr. Parul Dua Makkar published his book “Life Interrupted, Dr. Dua’s Life Interrupted.”

His book is about facing mortality and still holding on to hope and leaving life lessons behind.

“He wrote on things that he self-reflected on since he knew his days were numbered,” said Makkar. “He wrote about hope, about parents, about losing everything and what’s important at the end of life.” Dua wrote this book as a guide to help people who are facing adversities and how to get the emotional, inner strength to work through anything.

Dua opened his dental practice in Calgary, Canada in 2016 from scratch which led him to be featured on the cover of Dentaltown magazine. He was inspired by his sister, Makkar to pursue a career in dentistry. He then received the diagnosis of oral cancer in August 2019 which was removed with surgery but shortly after recovery cancer reappeared in the lymph nodes in his neck and it had metastasized in April 2020. By that time, Dua chose to close his practice.

“He was very candid about his cancer journey because he was a dentist,” said Makkar. “Although he had no risk factors such as smoking, drinking yet he developed oral cancer. He was healthy and in the prime of his life”

He had endured a second surgery for his lymph nodes and received chemotherapy and radiation in the following months. The doctors then found another lesion in his chest which started very small and was given chemotherapy and radiation for treatment as well.

After his 34th birthday on June 27, 2020, Dua finished his chemotherapy in July, and in November he had received the news that the chest lesion grew 4 times in size. In September 2020, Dua had begun writing his book about his journey.

“I just wrote an article on preventable cancers like this with early diagnosis, getting the HPV vaccine, and getting regular dental checkups,” said Makkar. “Cancer just doesn’t affect the person suffering but the village around him/her.”

Makkar owns her own family dental practice PDM Family Dental. 295 N Broadway, Jericho, NY, 11753. She advocates for early diagnosis with regular dental check-ups. To learn more or make appointments please visit www.pdmfamilydental.com or call 516-388-5002.

Dua’s book Life Interrupted, Dr. Dua’s Survival Guide is now available on Amazon. Makkar shared an excerpt from the chapter New Beginnings that she keeps in mind when she thinks of her brother, Manu.

“One of the most important things that I have learned during these turbulent and difficult times, is to accept the loss of control and continue to ride the wave day by day. The ability to just focus on each day and get through each day is imperative when your world collapses around you. I write this as I am in a hospital bed with one lung almost collapsed from fluid, and to be perfectly honest I have found my peace. I understand that every day is a new journey and I focus on getting through the days enjoying little victories and having complete faith that the future will unfold as it should and that my worries and anxieties are normal but fruitless and will not help me define a new path in life. What is imperative is inner peace and strength and truly believe that there will be a better life in this world or the next,” written by Dr. Manu Dua.

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