'She died wishing to see her baby'.

Byline: Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter

Abu Dhabi: The family of an Indian nurse, who died of H1N1 at a hospital in Al Ain last week, is distraught that they could not fulfil her last wish of seeing her newborn baby.

The family is also desperate to know how and from where she got infected with the virus. Sunita, sister-in-law of 27-year-old victim Deepthi Gopinath, and a nurse herself, said: "In our field, it is quite natural that we attend to suspected swine flu cases."

Sunita recalled that while hooked up to a ventilator in her dying moments, Deepthi called for paper and pen and wrote that she wanted to see her newborn baby. "But we could not fulfil her last wish because the baby was also on ventilator," Sunita said.

"Deepthi wrote again that she wanted to know the weight of the baby", she added. It is fortunate that the baby girl, who has been named Devika Nair, is on her way to recovery.

"The baby has to remain in the hospital for at least a month," Sunita said.

Deepthi was eight months pregnant when she was admitted to the hospital on August 22 with severe respiratory problems. She had initially experienced fever and throat pain on August 20 and was taken to a private hospital in Al Ain where she was getting pre-natal treatment, P.U. Anil Kumar, her brother-in-law, said.

"The doctor gave her some medicines, but she had to be taken to the same hospital on August 22."

The hospital referred her to a government hospital in Al Ain where she was transferred to the intensive care unit on the evening of August 24. "She underwent a Caesarean section and a baby girl was delivered on August 25 morning," Kumar said.

The mother and baby were put on ventilator on the same day, he explained.

On August 27, Deepthi's blood samples were taken for H1N1 tests, which confirmed the infection on August 30.

"She was quarantined that day but she died on September 1," Kumar said.

As Gulf News had reported, the Ministry of Health had confirmed the death of two pregnant women in the UAE due to swine flu, taking the toll of H1N1 deaths in the country to four.

"The first was a pregnant woman suffering from breathing complications, who was admitted to hospital 10 days ago. A C-section was performed to deliver the baby, which is in good health", the ministry had announced.

A source from the Committee to Combat Swine Flu told Gulf News yesterday said that the first case mentioned in the ministry's announcement was Deepthi's case.

The family does not know how Deepthi picked up the H1N1 virus.

"She told me she had not attended to any confirmed swine flu cases. But you could get the virus from anywhere - in a lift, shopping mall or anywhere else," Sunita said.

Deepthi was the only daughter of her parents living in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala in India. "The parents and her only brother have not come to terms with the tragedy," Sunita said.

"She lived with us for a year in Al Ain, but the love she gave everyone can cover an entire lifetime. Suresh Babu, her husband, is my only brother, so we were all attached to each other," she said. Suresh Babu was not in a position to speak when Gulf News contacted him. "He has not attended to any calls since the tragedy", Sunita said.

- With inputs from Abdullah Rasheed, Abu Dhabi Editor

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