KOTA KINABALU: Like all doting wives and mothers, nothing is more precious to Norfaezah Nulhassan than her family.
That is why it felt like the world came crashing down for the 35-year-old when her husband and two sons contracted Covid-19.
This is even as she lay fighting for her own life in the intensive care unit (ICU) after catching the virus herself.
The family of four had been infected when they returned to Semporna for the state election last September.
Norfaezah, an administrative assistant in the health ministry, had followed her husband Adam Sawayaib back to his hometown for the polling process and they brought their sons Ahmad Faiz Adam and Ahmad Fiqri Adam along.
“I was already in the ICU with my condition semi-critical when a health officer called to tell me that my sons were positive (for Covid-19). All I could do was weep uncontrollably,” she told FMT.
“My oxygen level was already low (because of the illness), hence, the reason I was even put on a ventilator at one point and my body felt like shutting down. So you can imagine how out of breath I was to hear the news about my dear sons.”
She found out she was infected on Oct 7, two days after she first felt feverish while working in the Beaufort district hospital. She was later sent to a quarantine and treatment centre for low-risk patients.
But Norfaezah’s condition worsened, with her fever having not subsided and her breathing had became even more difficult.
She was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) here on Oct 15 but rushed to the ICU two days later after doctors found her oxygen levels had dropped by about 50%.
“I spent five days in the ICU. Doctors told me those who end up in ICUs normally have a 50-50 chance of making it through,” she said.
Coupled with the rule of strictly no visits by next-of-kin and the isolation, she reached a breaking point where all sense of hope seemed lost to her.
“It didn’t help hearing people dying of the disease and also someone committing suicide at the same hospital … we actually saw something falling outside our window!
A woman believed to be a Covid-19 patient fell to her death from the eighth floor of QEH on Oct 21 but health authorities later said she did not have the virus.
“After hearing my husband and sons being infected, I really felt like giving up, that life had no more meaning because I might never see them again, especially with my own condition,” Norfaezah said.
All that flashed through her mind was the times spent with her beloved family, and the things they never had a chance to do.
So it came as a major relief when her husband called later and told her that he and their sons only had Stage 3 symptoms which did not require hospitalisation. They were housed in a quarantine centre.
“He told me my sons Faiz, 10, and Fiqri, 2, only had fever for a day. They were even actively playing around after that. Hearing that was heaven to me,” she said.
This gave her the impetus she needed to fight on.
“My father and husband called me constantly, suffice to say my phone always kept buzzing. I have to thank my family for the words of encouragement, telling me they needed me.”
Celebration of life
Norfaezah was discharged from hospital on Oct 28. Now, she has a whole new take on life after being at death’s door.
For her now, the new year is not just another festivity but an actual celebration of life.
“For one, I never want to fall sick again,” she said, with a smile.
“We always wanted to go travelling. Provided the health situation is better, probably to Kuala Lumpur next year. The children have always wanted to go there.
“After this ordeal, my husband and I want to spend more time with them. Our appreciation of life has been enhanced tremendously.
“It’s one thing to look for more money but if you don’t have loved ones to spend it with, then what’s the use? We are grateful for this second chance because we don’t know when our time will be up.”
Naturally, Norfaezah sympathises with those who were not so fortunate and lost family and friends to Covid-19.
“I have no words to offer them then just our condolences. But if there was one thing I learned after my experience is that family and friends are important when dealing with the virus.
“They are the ones who keep you alive,” she said.