Tribute to an “excellent” doctor and father of four who died of the coronavirus while treating patients on the front line of Covid-19.
Dr. Irfan Halim, who was called a “man’s gift” by his friends, Royal Brompton Hospital After nine weeks of fighting the virus, it was in South Kensington on Sunday.
Two months ago, he worked in the Covid Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward of Swindon Hospital, where he is believed to have contracted the virus and then fell during his shift on September 10. Dr. Halim has been fully vaccinated and wears a full set of personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times during the ward.
Dr. Halim works at Swindon Hospital during the pandemic
/ GoFundMeAfter a few weeks in the ICU in Swindon, Dr. Halim was transferred to Royal Brompton on September 23, where he received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment. He died in the arms of his wife Sarah, Sarah said that she “whistled prayer and love in his ears”.
Dr. Halim is a consultant general surgeon who has engaged in various practices during his 25-year medical career and was hailed by friends and family as the “Tower of Strength” on Thursday. He specializes in laparoscopic surgery and has worked in the famous Harley Street clinic.
A close friend of the family said that his tragic death occurred a few weeks after his father Kamal (also a doctor) died of the new crown virus in late September. When his son was in the intensive care unit of Royal Brompton, he was buried and a funeral was held.
Siân Hughes-Pollitt is a family friend who met Dr. Halim a few years ago through a fencing club where his three children participated. He said that his death “left a huge gap in many places and spaces.”
She told the Standard that he often traveled from his home in Barking to Swindon to treat patients, and the commute took more than two hours.
“Irfan says nice things to everyone,” she said. “It is difficult to accept that a person who has taken all medical and clinical precautions against Covid will die from this disease.
“As a doctor, he has incredible dedication. Even if Covid gets worse in the hospital, he will never abandon Swindon-he will never think of it. He has a sense of principle and responsibility.
“When I imagine him now, I see him standing next to his wife and family-a tower of power. He is a husband, father, and best friend. I see him living through his wife and children. “
Ms. Hughes-Pollett said that a few hours after she saw her husband die in the intensive care unit, she talked to Dr. Halim’s wife Sairah. “She was broken… The first thing she told me was:’He went out to work and he never went home again. This is the longest shift.
“The gap he left is so big-it feels like a lost ocean.”
Dr. Ifran Halim and his wife Saila
/ GoFundMeSaila and Irfan first met at a skating rink in East London, then settled in Whitechapel, and then moved to Barking to be closer to their family.
Ms. Hughes-Pollett said that one of Saila’s last memories of her husband was the FaceTime call from the intensive care unit of Swindon Hospital after he was sedated.
“Saira told him:’We need you. The kids need you to fight this. He can’t speak, but she sees him nodding in agreement. He gave her the vow to fight.”
In a social media post on Monday, Sai La paid tribute to her “best friend.”
She wrote: “My beloved Irfan passed away peacefully at 7:51pm on Sunday, November 14th, and I held him in my arms, surrounded by his beautiful friends with his brothers and sisters, Prayer and love whispered in his ears.
“Irfan, as your wife, you gave me fifteen magical years, four beautiful children, and good memories will last for the rest of my life in this world.
“You are not only my best friend, but also the best friend of all our children and many others.”
A sort of GoFundMe The page created in Dr. Irfan’s memory has raised more than £80,000, and this money will be used to help support Saila and her family.
She said: “We want to use his memory as a glue to unite the family and generate a more lasting recognition of the values he represents.”
“He has never left his position. He is like a soldier fighting this virus. Like other NHS workers, he looks directly at danger and stands there to protect others. They are heroes.”
