LONDON: A 36-year-old NHS nurse died on Friday after being infected with coronavirus and fighting for her life in intensive care.
British-Pakistani Areema Nasreen had been placed on a ventilator at Walsall Manor Hospital in the West Midlands where she worked in the acute medical unit, the BBC reported.
The mother of three, believed to have had no underlying health issues, first experienced symptoms on Mar. 13 and was later taken into intensive care. She showed slight signs of improvement last week but died in the early hours of Friday.
Paying tribute to the nurse, Richard Beeken, chief executive of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said Nasreen “was a professional, passionate nurse who started at the trust as a housekeeper in 2003 before working hard to gain her nursing qualification in January 2019.”
“Her dedication to her role and her popularity among her colleagues is obvious to see with the outpouring of grief and concern we are seeing around the organization and on social media. We will do everything that we can in the coming days and weeks to support those that need it,” he added.
Beekan said Nasreen always aimed to make a difference and that she “will be very sadly missed.”
Nasreen’s close friend Rubi Aktar, also a nurse, posted the news of her death on Facebook and described her as “the most loveliest, genuine person you could ever meet.” She added that her friend “above and beyond for everyone she met.”
“I’m so grateful that I had the honor to call her my best friend, she saw me at my best and my worst and accepted my every flaw. I am so broken that words can’t explain. I can’t believe I will not see your smile again,” Aktar wrote.
“You made me the nurse that I am today, with your support, motivation and inspiration I am the nurse that I am today and I hope I can do you proud Areema. I love you so much and I will never forget you. You had so much to live for, I am sorry you didn’t get to see your kids grow up and I’m sorry that you didn’t get to complete your career,” Aktar added.
Dr. Samara Afzal, a doctor who knew Nasreen, described her as a devoted nurse and “always full of life.”
“I’m lost for words..I beg you all to stay at home and keep everyone safe,” Afzal tweeted.
Meanwhile, England’s chief nurse Ruth May pleaded with Britons on Friday to stay at home over the weekend, invoking the names of Nasreen and another nurse, Aimee O’Rourke, who also died of coronavirus.
"This weekend is going to be very warm and it will be very tempting to go out and enjoy those summer rays," May said.
"But please, I ask you to remember Aimee and Areema. Please stay at home for them," she said.
"They were one of us, they were one of my profession, of the NHS family," May said.
"They were clearly remarkable women, nurses and mothers," she added in a statement.
