Covid-19 patient relates pain of not being with father who died in the same hospital

PETALING JAYA: It was a heart-breaking experience for Covid-19 patient Affea Firzana, who was unable to be with her father when he passed away – despite being in the same hospital.

"The worst moment was when I received the news that Abah (father) had passed away.

"I was also sick and bedridden at the hospital and I could not even see him," she said in a caption posted in a heart-wrenching video on TIkTok, which has since gathered more than 200,000 views.

Affea, who is from Pasir Gudang, Johor, said events started during the first week of Ramadan.

"I began to fall sick. It started with a fever and I experienced symptoms commonly found in other Covid-19 patients.

"I did not know I had been infected with the disease. I thought it was just a normal fever," she said.

The video showed pictures of them together during better times, until her father's last moments.

Her father passed away peacefully on May 5.

She said that her late father could not bear seeing her sick.

"If possible, he said he would bear all of my pain.

"To cut the story short, Abah suffered some gastritis. He was brought to a clinic and later referred to the hospital due to a high blood sugar reading," she said, adding that her father had a history of diabetes and high blood pressure.

"He was immediately rushed to the red zone. At the same time, my health continued to deteriorate and I tested positive for Covid-19.

"I was later admitted to the same hospital (as my father) as I had difficulty breathing.

"We were in the same hospital, but placed in different wards.

"I even requested to meet Abah but doctors did not allow me to," she added.

Affea said that she could only communicate with him via telephone to ask about his condition.

Before he died, Affea said that her father told her he was hungry and wanted to have a shower.

"I felt really sad as I could not do anything.

"No family members were allowed to accompany him. That night, he called my brother and according to him, Abah's voice was weak.

"He passed away at midnight. I only found out about it at 3am," she said.

She said in that three-hour period, she was puzzled why many people were expressing condolences to her.

"I am also sad that my siblings and I could not manage his funeral," she said.

Affea still has not had a chance to visit her father's grave due to current Covid-19 restrictions.

"For now, I can only send my prayers from afar. I can only look at his photos on my phone," she said.