Couple dies eight weeks after their ‘dream wedding’
Ruslan Manashirov and Nicole Doran-Manashirov tied the knot on May 2, just eight weeks before the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside.
The two moved to Surfside in April and lived on the seventh floor of the condo tower, which partially collapsed in the early morning hours of June 24. Her nickname for him was “Baby Baku” for the city in Russia from which his family immigrated, and he often called her his unicorn, after the mythical creature she admired.
They were among 98 people who perished in the condo collapse. Police recovered the body of Ruslan, 36, on July 7; they recovered the remains of Nicole, 43, on July 9.
Manashirov grew up in Brooklyn and was a neurologist as well as a family doctor at ClareMedica of South Miami.
One of Manashirov’s patients, Jonathan Blecher, said he had a warm, reassuring presence and Blecher even referred his son to Manashirov because of their immediate connection.
Manashirov had recently
taken over the practice from an older doctor and was operating in a new facility, he said. Blecher said he was able to maintain a calm demeanor despite the toll COVID-19 took on the medical field.
The two talked beyond the normal doctor-patient relationship and delved into their lives during visits. Blecher said Manashirov would always listen and never rushed their dialogue.
“He genuinely cared,” he said.
In a statement by ClareMedica, he was described as a calm presence, someDr.
one with a quick wit, collaborative spirit and smart intellect.
“His death has left a void that will not easily be filled,” the practice wrote.
The couple met at a clinic in 2018 but were both in relationships at the time, so nothing came of it. Two years later, they were both single again and fell in love.
They were so happy, Valery Manashirova, the doctor’s sister, told WABCTV in New York. “It was a beautiful wedding and they were just starting their lives,” she said.
They just moved to the
beach side condominium complex in April and hosted a housewarming party in their seventh-floor unit.
“One thing that comforts me is they ended together,” Kays said.
Doran-Manashirov, a Pittsburgh native, was a physician assistant in Aventura Hospital’s emergency department. Her medical skills were useful during the pandemic, a family friend, Wendy Kays, told the Pittsburgh PostGazette.
“She worked indescribable hours during the pandemic. She never backed out on her duties,” Kays said.
Before her time at the hospital, she was a high school teacher in Woodland Hills, Pittsburgh.
Kathryn Fitzgerald, a physician assistant at the Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, messaged Doran-Manashirov the afternoon before the condo collapse. Hours later, she was frantically calling to try and reach her dear coworker.
Nicole was close with everyone, she said. Every single person she worked with was affected by the tragedy. She always knew something about you that most people didn’t and cared to get to know people, she said.
The two would go to conferences together, trips to the Keys and even had spa days to relax from hectic days at the hospital.
Fitzgerald said she had “one of those personalities that you’ll really never find.”
She loved to travel and would always bring back little trinkets from her adventures for her coworkers, Fitzgerald said.
“Always, one of those friends who if you didn’t talk to her in a while, she was always the first to call you up and kind of see how you were doing,” she said.
Fitzgerald was pregnant in the first year of the pandemic and DoranManashirov would regularly offer to take over some of her shifts in the COVID-19 section of the hospital. She said this eased some of her worry about her or her baby getting sick from the virus and was thankful for her coworker.
Scott Heichman also worked with Doran-Manashirov in Aventura Hospital and the two lived together for about a year. He offered her a room when she was in need and the two became close friends.
Even when she moved out and he changed careers, they stayed in contact.
“It was just one of those people that you know you’ll always stay in touch with,” he said.
Doran-Manashirov planned her dream wedding despite needing to reschedule multiple times due to COVID-19. Heichman attended and said he had never seen his dear friend so full of life and love.
Heichman quoted a passage from a friend who delivered a tribute during a service to her last week: “It was her dream come true.”
The Manashirovs had a quick honeymoon in St. Augustine after the ceremony, but had a larger trip planned for Paris in September. They were beyond excited for the trip and had Paris-themed decor in their bedroom.
Heichman also spoke at a service for her where he said he closes his eyes, pictures his family and the Manashirovs on vacation, taking their future children to the beach.
“I know that will never happen now, but I know that she is looking down on me and giving me the strength to care for my twins and to live my life by enjoying each and every day,” he said in the service.