Son buried mother who died of Covid-19
Malaysia has seen an uptick in Covid-19 cases in recent days, with frontliners having to put in their best efforts to do their part in the fight against the pandemic. This Malaysian man, who volunteered to manage the burial of Covid-19 patients, is one of them – having overseen hundreds of individuals who had unfortunately succumbed to the virus in just two weeks.
His story shared online on how difficult it was having to lay his own mother to rest has since gone viral, because he said he had carried out the burial rites of others’ before, but never thought that he would have to bury his own mother.
Man’s heartbreaking story of mother’s Covid-19 burial
On 9th August 2021, Abdul Razak Nordin took to Twitter to share how he had to carry out the burial of his late mother recently.
According to the short, but heartbreaking, tweet, Abdul Razak works as a Covid-19 funeral management officer, and had seen hundreds of Covid-19 burials. However, he did not expect to have to bury his own mother while on the job, and called it unfathomable.
Image credit: @IamAjak
Several photos shared along with the tweet, showing Abdul Razak paying his last respects and saying goodbye to his mother while donning a PPE suit, went viral. The tweet received over 60,000 retweets and 70,000 likes at the time of writing, with many offering their prayers and condolences through the social media platform.
Reminder to check in with your loved ones
In an interview with Malay portal mStar, Abdul Razak, who works with the Selangor Islamic Religious Department, said that his mother was recently admitted to hospital for diabetes. During her stay at the hospital, Abdul Razak was unable to visit her as his job involved the handling of Covid-19 patients.
After her discharge, on 8th August, his mother had breathing difficulties and had to be admitted to the hospital again. However, she did not make it there, and was confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19 following her death.
In a separate interview with Harian Metro, Abdul Razak shared that he began volunteering as a Covid-19 funeral management officer two weeks ago. This is how he was able to be by his mother’s side in her final moments, from the hospital to the burial site.
Image credit: @IamAjak
Abdul Razak’s family of 16 have since undergone Covid-19 tests, with his father and eldest brother also testing positive for the virus. Fortunately, he tested negative, and was able to carry out his job and lay his mother to rest.
However, it was a task that was shrouded with sadness, and left him in tears.
In the same interview with mStar, Abdul Razak honestly shared that while he felt grief during the burial of other Covid-19 patients, the burial of his own mother was indescribable in comparison.
Image credit: @IamAjak
As a word of encouragement to everyone after his tweet unintentionally went viral, Abdul Razak implores everyone to frequently make meaningful connections with their elderly parents using technology.
On 10th August, following the attention his tweet received, Abdul Razak took to Twitter again to share his thanks to everyone who sent their condolences and encouragement for him and his family.
Son who buried mother who died of Covid-19 shares heartbreaking story
It’s never easy to lose someone or say our final farewell to them, as Abdul Razak and many others have had to do during this pandemic. We send our condolences to him and his family, and hope that his family members who are affected by Covid-19 have a speedy recovery as well.
Read more here:
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- Malaysian doctor shares how hospitals are overloaded
Cover image adapted from: @IamAjak