RADHIYAH AL-HAMOUD

As COVID-19 spread like wildfire across the globe, one Saudi nurse had to endure the pain of losing her daughter — a piece of her heart — to the illness. Radiyah Al-Hamoud, who works at a government clinic in a small town, was one of the first nurses to volunteer at a quarantine center in Al-Ahsa governorate in mid-March.

Little did she know that less than two months later, she would contract the infection and spread it to her immediate family.

Al-Hamoud, her husband Habeeb Al-Biladi, their two sons Mohammed and Mahmoud, and their 13-year-old daughter Masooma all tested positive, and were admitted to one of the quarantine hotels in the region until they were cleared around Eid Al-Fitr.

However, Masooma became feverish a few days after returning home. She was later admitted to a children’s hospital, where she became almost stable enough to return home again, only to have her health deteriorate quickly. After suffering kidney failure and rapidly failing body functions, she was placed on respiratory support but succumbed to the illness after two days. “I was screaming in silence,” Al-Hamoud said. “I asked my daughter to forgive me for infecting her. She told me she did, and she would’ve given her life for me.”

The volunteer nurse is still reeling from her loss, still in disbelief that she infected her daughter even though she took extra measures to ensure her family’s safety and health.

“I lost my soulmate, my angel,” said AlHamoud. “She was our butterfly and had the sweetest soul.”

Tareq Al-Thaqafi Makkah