several years in England while Dr. Ali
finished his training. He continued to
a pulmonology fellowship, where he
had the opportunity to study under
the highly acclaimed pulmonologist
Dr. William McLeod. Eventually, the
family moved to America, settling
in Connecticut, where Dr. Ali was
accepted as the senior resident at
Yale affiliated Norwalk hospital, and
eventually became teaching faculty
at Yale University School of Medicine
Lung Research Center.
At this point, the young family had
three children, and Dr. Ali decided to
begin an independent practice. He
received offers from various parts
of the country, but the family was
ultimately drawn to Texas. “We looked
at the different places we could go,
and Texas seemed like a good idea.
The weather was similar to what
we were used to in India. No more
snowstorms!” Dr. Ali established his
pulmonary practice in Fort Worth in
the 1970s and continued to serve our
community’s patients for the rest of his
career. He retired at the age of 85 after
practicing in Tarrant County for 45 years.
During his long career, Dr. Ali was
instrumental in the development of
pulmonary and critical care in Fort
Worth. He was the first physician with
critical care training in Fort Worth as
well as the first to perform a fiberoptic
bronchoscopy. He was the medical
director of the Respiratory Therapy
Department at St. Joseph’s Hospital
for over a decade and established a
bronchoscopy lab at the hospital, which
would in turn encourage the growth of
the field in surrounding hospitals. He
had the opportunity to write a chapter
on performing bronchoscopy in the
1983 edition of Diagnostic Procedures:
The Patient and the Health Care Team,
further disseminating the knowledge he
had gained from his experience with the
procedure.
In the late 1970s, Dr. Ali was the first to
diagnose Legionnaires’ Disease in Fort
Worth, and in the 1980s he was among
the pioneer physicians involved in the
diagnosis and treatment of the first cases
of HIV/AIDS in Fort Worth. Throughout
his career, Dr. Ali was beloved by
patients and physicians alike for his
compassionate and excellent care. Drs.
Vernon Ellis and Robert Shaw, longtime
friends and colleagues of Dr. Ali, had
the opportunity to refer many patients
to him for pulmonary care through their
practices as a family physician. “Dr. Ali
was wonderful,” says Dr. Ellis. “I sent
patients to him time and again with great
results. They got excellent treatment, and
everything was thoroughly explained—he
never rushed his time with the patients.”
Dr. Shaw couldn’t agree more. “His
follow-up care and treatment were always
timely, appropriate, and spot on . . . I will
always consider it one of the greatest
blessings in my career in medicine to
have been able to refer my pulmonary
patients to a physician so brilliant and
yet so kind and compassionate as Dr.
Ebadat Ali.”
As a longtime member of the Tarrant
County Medical Society, Dr. Ali stresses
the importance of membership and
participation. Having spent the majority
of his career in Texas, Dr. Ali has watched
the development of laws that effect
physicians, and he credits organized
medicine for many of the safeguards we
have today. “The Medical Society and
Texas Medical Association have done
a wonderful job standing for physicians
and patients. We need to stay united,”
Dr. Ali shares. “Because of their work, my
practice of medicine was not restricted
in many of the ways it would have been.
Having a fence behind you to address
18 I October 2019 I Tarrant County Physician
government regulations is very
important.”
Dr. Ali kept an incredibly busy
schedule throughout the majority of
his career. Practicing independently
in critical care, he worked long hours,
typically seeing over 30 patients a
day, and was often called back to the
hospital at night for emergency care.
For years it was difficult to balance his
family life and work schedule, and he
credits his wife, Shameem, for often
carrying the burden of managing their
home. “I am fortunate to have such
an excellent wife who worked so hard
for our family,” he shares. “Most days
I would leave early and come home
around midnight, so everything with
the children would fall on her. It was
a difficult balance, but we made it
work.” Their father’s passion for serving
others had no small influence on their
children—their daughter, Amberina
Husain, is a school teacher and their
sons are both physicians. Farhan Ali,
MD, is a cardiologist in Fort Worth and
Rehan Ali, MD, is an emergency medicine
physician who practices in multiple
hospitals in the DFW area.
Dr. Farhan Ali remembers measures his
father took to spend with them despite
his busy schedule. “Some of my fondest
memories as a little boy are of rounding
with my father on the weekends. It was
his way of spending time with my brother
and me as he often missed dinners,
school events, and many other family
activities taking care of the sickest people
in Fort Worth.”
Dr. Ali is incredibly proud of his sons
and daughter as well as their spouses
and his eight grandchildren. “I have
wonderful children; they have all worked
very hard and valued the education and
opportunities they have been given and
are very dedicated to us,” says Dr. Ali.
“We are glad their spouses are part of
our family and, since retirement, I have
enjoyed getting to spend more time with
them as well as our grandchildren. Finally,
I get to go to all of the school events!”
Amberina shares that she has “always
known Dr. Ali to be a responsible,
patient, and nurturing father” and has
“embraced these qualities in her career
as a teacher as well.”
Dr. Rehan Ali says his father was
his inspiration for practicing medicine.
“To me, he embodies compassion,
GOLD-HEADED CANE
During Dr. Ali’s residency in England
Gold-Headed Cane continued from page 17