A nurse's tragic ordeal with dengue losing one son

 
Witnessing the havoc of dengue up close, Shimul Parveen feared the worst as her two sons fell ill and were taken to her workplace, Kurmitola General Hospital, where she served as a senior staff nurse.

Yet, she drew some solace from her extensive experience, knowing her nurturing care had often led dengue patients to recover from the mosquito-borne disease. But on Wednesday, the seasoned nurse's world shattered as her younger son, seven-year-old Alif Islam Shaon, succumbed to dengue.

Shimul's elder son, Ayon Islam, 14, had not yet fully recovered from dengue, but he was discharged from the hospital yesterday. Shawon's father, Tajul Islam Milon, said there was no error in his son's treatment, yet the boy had left them forever.

"Our world consisted of both boys. How will we live now after losing the little boy?" the grief-stricken father asked. "It's an unfortunate twist of fate," expressed the devastated nurse's colleague Rekha Margaret Costa. "Shimul has tirelessly cared for patients, from those with Covid-19 to dengue. Today, the loss of her son is simply unbearable."

Rekha, also a senior staff nurse at the hospital, told reporters that the elder brother, Ayon, was admitted to the ICU of Kurmitola Hospital last Friday after contracting dengue.

Shaon, the younger brother, was admitted for dengue treatment on Monday and remained in the dengue ward due to his relatively stable condition.
"One son in ICU, another in the ward - Shimul had a lot of trouble handling two sick sons," Costa said.

A doctor at Kurmitola Hospital, wishing not to be named, told journalists that Shaon's condition suddenly deteriorated on Tuesday.
"Due to the absence of a pediatric ICU at Kurmitola, he was transferred to a private hospital in the capital and put on a ventilator. Tragically, Shaon passed away on Wednesday night on the way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital," the doctor said.

Despite Ayon not being fully recovered, he was discharged due to the family's tragedy, he added.

Shaon was buried at a Tongi graveyard after the namaj-e-janaza (funeral prayer) at Kurmitola Hospital at 11am on Thursday.

Shaon and Ayon lived with their parents at College Gate in Tongi. Shaon used to go to a private English medium school in the area.

Meanwhile, 11 more deaths were reported from dengue in 24 hours till Thursday morning, raising the fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh over 800 this year.