Voices

Burke's Law: Twin blessings for Drs. Mala and Mau

They may be too young to realize it, but a cooing, squealing, 6-month-old duo with Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian roots has two pairs of big shoes to fill. Newly retired Dr. Ted Mala of Alaska and Dr. Marjorie Mau, of Hawaii, welcomed the twins in May.

"Life is just like the weather. It changes very quickly, but in wonderful ways," Mala, 69, said during a phone interview from the couple's home in Honolulu, Hawaii. They also maintain a home in Anchorage.

On May 21, 2015, they welcomed Ray Kevin, and his sister, Mia Lauren, into the world.

The newly expanded family beat the odds first by conceiving, then by delivering not one but two healthy babies. With Dr. Mau in her 50s, the pregnancy was considered high-risk, but it went so well that some of Mau's friends have dubbed her the "warrior woman."

"It was like a 20-year-old having a baby," Mala said of his wife.

"My hope for the twins are for them to know how much Ted and I love them unconditionally and how special they were to come into our lives WHEN they did," Mau said via email.

Modern medicine helped, but Mau credits the smooth sailing to the amazing capabilities of a woman's body, and to her own mindful approach to wellness. With diligence, she kept herself in good physical, mental, emotional and spiritual shape.

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"Staying in tune with my body and learning how to relax and stay calm and to focus my efforts on the babies was a daily routine for me -- and I loved every minute of it!!!" she said.

That diligence is a theme that runs strong in both parents' lives and work. ?Mau is still in the midst of a successful career; Mala, who retired earlier this year after four decades in Alaska health care, jumped right into being a stay-at-home dad.

"When you have to go to work you miss a lot of things. And I missed a lot of it with my first two kids. I'm seeing all of it right now and it's unbelievable. It's wonderful," he said.

As for those big shoes to fill, the Mau Mala "legacy babies" are the latest in a family lineage dense with courage to break barriers and compassion to serve.

Mala's father, Ray Mala, is thought to be the first non-white leading man in Hollywood. A cameraman and skilled hunter who spoke Inupiaq, Ray Mala became famous in the 1930s after his on-screen lead in the film "Eskimo." Mala died at the age of 45, succumbing to a bad heart damaged by childhood rheumatic fever. His wife died a year later from pneumonia, although Ted Mala told Anchorage public radio station KSKA in a 2010 interview that he thinks his mom's real cause of death was a broken heart.

The early deaths of his parents left Mala to navigate culture shock as a second-grader in an Irish Catholic military-style boarding school in Los Angeles and later, to find his way into medicine and traditional healing. He told KSKA that it was kind of a "raised by wolves" upbringing.

In 1975 Mala became the first Alaska Native doctor to return to the state to practice medicine. Under Governor Wally Hickel, Mala was also the first Alaska Native to serve as the state's commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services. He would go on to join the health care-oriented Southcentral Foundation, where he retired as the director of Tribal Relations and the director of Traditional Healing.

As for Dr. Marjorie Mau, she herself is no stranger to forging new paths. She was the only Native Hawaiian in her class in medical school, and one of just a handful of women among a large cohort of male students. A licensed physician and endocrinologist in both Hawaii and Alaska, she sees patients at the Alaska Native Medical Center and also serves as the principal investigator and director for the Center for Native and Pacific Health Disparities Research in Hawaii, and is chair for Native Hawaiian Health at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. She and Mala both have dedicated themselves to addressing health disparities among underserved and indigenous populations.

When they married about 10 years ago, each brought two children to the marriage. With the arrival of Mia and Ray, their brood now ranges in age from 6 months to 38 years old. Thus far, there are no grandchildren.

"This is I think better than grandchildren because I don't have to give them back. And I don't want to. I adore them," Mala said of the twins. "I really hope they make the world a better place than it is. Just making the world a little better, that's my dream for them."

Mau's dream is for her babies to grow up to be "really happy" adults, both "internally and soulfully."

Without a doubt, the twins have the force of ancestral winds to power their journey. From the Pacific Ocean to the Bering Sea, they are starting their young lives rooted in all that has come before them, and all that lies ahead.

The children's full names are much longer than the shorthand: Mia Lauren Makaiwa Casina Mau Mala and Ray Kevin Kaiapo Kripik Mau Mala are named after their parents, grandparents and friends, with nuanced meanings that relate to perseverance, navigation, oceans and stars. Fitting for two newly emerged beings whose adventures in life are just beginning.

For Mala, it has been a long journey of unexpected miracles, of somehow finding one's way onto the right path through intention, hard work and serendipity.

After his retirement early this year, Mala told the Alaska Public Radio Network that it's really difficult to be the "first" of anything because "you become a role model, which I never wanted to be. I just always wanted to be myself."

Ironic, because Mala has grown to become a powerful role model in the lives of people seeking clarity and purpose, and encourages young people to seek out different role models for the different stages of their own lives. He hopes the twins will do the same.

Which brings him back to his spirituality, his belief in the creator and his faith in the saying "if it was supposed to be, it will happen."

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This year, against the odds, Ray and Mia happened, a double blessing Mau and Mala are grateful for. With unconditional love and pride, they are also acutely aware of how precious their time together will be.

"Before they were born -- we recorded, in our own voices, how they came to be -- how they filled our dreams of excitement, love, anticipation and a sense of hope for the future. I know that sounds like a lot to place on two little babies -- but I hope that when they grow up to be adults that they know that we will still be WITH THEM -- never too far," Mau said.

Jill Burke is a longtime Alaska journalist writing from the center of a busy family life. Her father swore by "Burke's Law No. 1 -- never take no for an answer." Meaning, don't give up in the face of adversity. The lesson stuck. Share your ideas with her at jill@alaskadispatch.com, on Facebook or on Twitter.

The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Dr. Majorie Mau's first name.

Jill Burke

Jill Burke is a former writer and columnist for Alaska Dispatch News.

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