Tying knot at hospital for ailing father
dubai — It wasn’t the dream wedding the couple had planned but despite the hitch in their plans, the young bride smiled radiantly and the groom looked dapper in his suit.
Ribat, a Bangladeshi national and his Pakistani bride Sana, flew all the way from Canada to be with Ribat’s ailing father and tied the knot in a simple, yet elegant, nikah ceremony at Aster Hospital, Mankhool on Saturday night. Khaleej Times was given an exclusive invitation to attend the hospital wedding.
Creating history, the couple is probably the first in the UAE to get married in any hospital setting. With an attendance of a handful of close relatives and parents of the bride, the mufti performed the nikah ceremony at the hospital’s conference hall declaring Ribat and Sana man and wife.
The couple had planned a grand wedding on July 16 in Toronto, Canada where over 200 guests were expected when suddenly Shahadat Chowdhury, Ribat’s father, fell severely ill and had to be hospitalised and ventilated.
“This was a shock for us since dad has always been healthy and has never complained,” Ribat said.
Ribat and his sister, who both reside in Toronto, flew to Dubai in emergency on June 13 after doctors explained to them that their father was put on a ventilator after being diagnosed with a condition called Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). “My mother was panicking and we immediately decided to come back to Dubai.”
With good care and proper management of the condition, Shahadat was soon out of the intensive care unit where he had spent weeks. However, doctors still did not give him the green signal to fly since he still needed oxygen. The treatment had side effects and left Shahadat with mild neuropathy.
The couple, who had met in university, had been planning the wedding for over a year.
“All arrangements had been done, bookings made. Over 200 guests and relatives were due to fly from all over the world to Canada
for the wedding but now we were in a fix,” said Ribat.
It was then Sana suggested that they hold the wedding ceremony at the hospital where Ribat’s father was admitted and the reception, as planned, on July 16 in Toronto.
Dazzling in an off white and maroon sari, Sana said the decision came naturally.
“We did not wantRibat’s father to miss the wedding, so we brought the wedding to him,” she said.
Sherbaz Bichu, CEO of Aster
Hospital, said: “The only place I’ve seen smiles in hospital is the gynaecology ward where babies are born and now we are honoured to host this wedding ceremony,” he said.