'I saw him take his last breath': Dad of S'porean toddler who died after getting Covid-19 - Mothership.SG

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Ten days before his tragic passing, 18-month-old Zaheer Raees Ali was happily playing with his father and brother at the void deck.

“I brought him out of the house to play catching, to look at cats, and to play with his older brother,” Farath, the toddler’s father, told Mothership over the phone.

Everything was as normal as it could be for the family.

Farath described Zaheer as an active boy.

“He’s very active and very very strong. For me personally, I have a lot of phobias. I have a phobia of blood and flying and taking the boat. I have a phobia of almost everything. My first son, he’s a replica of me. He’s scared of many things too.

But Zaheer, he wasn’t afraid of anything. He was a fighter. He was brave. And he made me stronger. When he was born, he gave me the strength to overcome the things I couldn’t in the past. He gave me so much strength.”

Exposed to an infected person at an open house

On Jun. 18, Farath’s wife attended an open house, bringing Zaheer along with her.

Farath and his first son, who is three years old, stayed behind.

When Zaheer and his mother returned home, they found that an attendee at the open house was infected with Covid-19.

The pair subsequently isolated themselves from the rest of the family.

But the next day, Jun. 19, Zaheer developed a fever and eventually tested positive for Covid-19.

Although they were worried and did everything they could to care for Zaheer, Farath and his wife didn’t think too much of the situation.

“[Zaheer] was still eating well and playing,” Farath explained.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse on Jun. 20 as Zaheer’s condition worsened.

Taken to KKH when his condition worsened

His temperature kept fluctuating and by Jun. 21, his fever had reached above 40°C.

“I tried everything I could. I tried to bring his temperature down but I’m not a medical professional, I wouldn’t want to do anything which could hurt him,” Farath told Mothership.

Left with no other choice, Farath and his wife brought Zaheer to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) Children’s Emergency Department on the night of June 21, 2022.

Zaheer was warded.

But to Farath and his wife’s dismay, their little boy’s condition did not appear to get any better.

Zaheer’s fever persisted and his consciousness gradually faded.

Moved to ICU

On Jun. 22, Zaheer was admitted to the Children’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in critical condition upon developing recurrent seizures.

Farath choked up as he recounted his experience, saying:

“My heart couldn’t bear it. [Zaheer’s] seizures were really really bad. As a father, all I could do was pray for him.

[…]

No parent should go through this.”

The doctors later did an MRI scan on Zaheer and revealed that his brain was swollen.

“The doctors kept telling me, ‘I’m sorry but your son is in critical condition.’ They told me that again and again…. again and again. It was so difficult.

I did everything I could. I told them to bring in the best KKH doctors. I contacted many specialists, doctors. I also contacted doctors from NUH (National University Hospital). I asked for second opinion, third opinion, fourth opinion. I did everything but, in the end, doctors are not God.”

Farath had also uploaded a LinkedIn post to publicly seek help for his son.

Was put on life support

Despite all of Farath’s efforts, Zaheer remained in critical condition and was eventually put on life support when he became fully unconscious.

Still full of hope and praying for miracles to happen, Farath decided not to turn off his son’s life support.

Both he and his wife agreed to do so as they wanted to increase his chances of survival.

Farath said:

“I was there with him in the hospital the entire time even though it was difficult. My wife and my older son both had tested positive for Covid-19 too and it was all very tough but I stayed by [Zaheer’s] side. I held his hand and I recited prayers.”

Unfortunately, the situation did not improve.

Zaheer was eventually removed from life support.

Passed away on Jun. 27, 2022

Zaheer passed away on Jun. 27, 2022.

According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the cause of death was encephalitis (brain inflammation) due to Covid-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and enterovirus infections.

Zaheer was Singapore’s first death caused by Covid-19 in a patient aged below 12 years old.

Recalling Zaheer’s last few moments before he took his last breath, Farath tearfully said:

“He was a strong warrior. He was a brave soul. He fought. He never gave up even till his last breath. The doctors told me that his heartbeat would slow down very quickly. But that didn’t happen. His heartbeat slowed down very slowly. He still fought till the end.

I saw him take his last breath. I was the only one in the room with him. My wife was too weak, and she couldn’t bear to see him like that.

I carried [Zaheer] in my own arms after he took his last breath. It was very very painful for me… very painful.”

Zaheer’s passing also took a toll on Farath’s older son.

According to Farath, his first son, despite being very young, understood what had happened and has been “very emotional”.

“He loves his brother so much,” Farath said.

Farath then told Mothership as his voice choked up and his sobs grew louder:

“If Zaheer was with me right now, I just want to tell him, ‘Papa love you so much.’

I’ve been heartbroken many times but those are nothing compared to how I feel when I lost him. The love I have for him… I can’t even describe how much I love him. I just love him… so so much… so so much.”

Top images via Farath’s LinkedIn account & Christian Chen on Google Maps.

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