The grief-stricken husband of Lini Puthussery, the nurse who died in Kerala after possibly contracting the Nipah Virus from one of the patients under her watch, is keen to grant his wife’s dying wishes. But he may be able to fulfil them only partly.
In a heart-wrenching note scribbled by her during her last few moments, Puthussery expressed her wish to see her young children re-locate to the Gulf with their father and complete their studies so that her young children didn’t face neglect. (“Take care of our children properly. Our innocent child, take him to the Gulf.”)
“It was her biggest dream that the children be educated well and I want to make that wish of hers come true. But for the time being, I am avoiding the idea of returning to the Gulf now. I am thinking of dropping the idea of going back to work to Bahrain. Let them continue with their studies here [in Kerala],” said Sajeesh in an exclusive interview with Gulf News over the phone.
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Distressed over his wife’s sudden death, the Keralite told Gulf News that he was still in a state of shock and the extent of the tragedy was yet to sink in.
“I will respect her wishes for sure. But nothing is concrete because we have nobody for us anymore,” said Sajeesh, who worked as an accountant in a Bahrain-based firm.
While he was distressed that he wouldn’t be able to take his sons to the Gulf, Sajeesh believed that her insistence to take them to the Middle East stemmed from his elder son’s adoration for that region.
“It was my son’s biggest wish to come to the Gulf. He is all of five. Each time I called him, I used to hear Lini tell my son that if you study well then you will get a chance to go to the Gulf like your father. It was one of his biggest wishes and perhaps that is why she wrote in that letter to take the children to the Gulf,” said Sajeesh.
The 28-year-old nurse, who gave up her life in the line of duty, is being lauded for her bravery and has become a symbol of sacrifice. Her husband describes her as a passionate woman who loved her nursing profession.
“At first, I tried for a family visa but Lini loved her profession so much that she said she was keen to come to Bahrain if she got a nursing job first,” said Sajeesh, who has been in the Middle East for the past five-and-a-half years.
Not only was she good at her job but also she was sensitive to her patient’s conditions, said Sajeesh.
“We used to speak daily and she constantly updated me on the situation. Towards the end, when the youth that she took care of died, she cried a lot. She had cared for him and nursed him, so all she knew was that it was some lethal virus,” said Sajeesh.
