‘Got indebted, but I couldn't save my wife, who will look after my two daughters?’
Royal Hospital, Chattogram. Photo: Collected.
“I have no one in Chittagong. My wife was admitted to the ICU. I have two young daughters. Holding two-year-old Yasmin in my arms, I entered the ICU yesterday, Saturday, around 10:30 AM. My wife, Morium, held my hand and said, ‘I am in so much pain. Will I not survive?’”
Giving his wife false hope, Mehedi Hasan Rubel then walked out of the ICU. The doctors had already informed him that his wife was in critical condition. Rubel left the hospital to arrange money for the expected bills. Around 4 PM, a phone call came from Royal Hospital: “Your wife's condition is deteriorating; if you are late, you won't see her alive.” Rubel rushed back, but he did not find Morium alive.
Morium Begum (31) passed away from dengue on Saturday afternoon. With this, Chittagong has recorded two deaths from dengue this year. So far, 443 people have been infected with dengue, with the highest number—145 patients—being infected in the first 11 days of this month.
Before her death, Morium had fought a week-long battle at this very hospital for her daughter, Ishrat Jahan. The five-and-a-half-year-old girl had also contracted dengue. After being kept in the ICU for four days, she recovered and returned home last Thursday. Focused on curing her dengue-stricken daughter, Morium had ignored her own illness. On Friday, she had to be admitted to the same hospital.
Rubel works in a garment factory. Their home is in Bakerganj, Barisal. They have two daughters; the eldest, Ishrat Jahan, is five and a half years old. After a few days of fever, Ishrat was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital on July 2.
Rubel shared, “My daughter tested positive for dengue. Her condition was deteriorating there. On a doctor's advice from the Medical College, I admitted her to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) at Royal Hospital on July 5. We brought her home healthy on July 9 (Thursday). However, while staying there, my wife developed a fever. Morium used to stay in the ICU with our daughter the entire time.”
On Wednesday, Morium was checked by a doctor at Royal Hospital, and her blood was sent for testing. On Thursday, her dengue test came back positive. On Friday, Rubel rushed to Royal Hospital again with his wife. She was admitted to a general cabin, and treatment began.
Rubel added, “Around 1 AM, Morium started becoming restless. On the doctor's advice, she was shifted to the ICU. I waited outside with the children. In the morning, I met my wife in the ICU. The doctor had already told me that dengue had severely affected her lungs and heart. After that, I left to arrange the money. In the afternoon, a call came from the hospital. She had probably passed away right then, but they didn't tell me over the phone.”
The treatment for his wife and daughter at the hospital cost 100,000 taka. He cleared the bills by borrowing money. Even after all this, Rubel laments, “Even after borrowing so much money, I couldn't save my wife. Now I am cast into a bottomless ocean with my two daughters. Who will look after them, who will keep them? The girls only keep searching for their mother.”
