One of the hardest consequences of COVID-19 has been the separation of loved ones at a time they need each other most. Children of all ages have been desperate to comfort dying parents and hold their hands as they come to the end of their battle with the disease. This was the case for Jihad Al-Suwaiti, whose 73-year-old mother was dying from coronavirus in hospital in the West Bank.
As the infectious disease separated the mother and son, Al-Suwaiti found a way to be close to his mother’s side during her final days — he climbed up the hospital wall and balanced on the window outside his mother’s room.
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In a report by Republic World, Al-Suwaiti shared how his mom had been admitted to hospital with leukemia and COVID-19. Over a five-day period he’d look on helplessly from outside the intensive care window as his mom deteriorated, battling the diseases. Refused entry to her room, he did the next best thing he could think of — watch over her from behind the window.
His mom, Rasmi Suwaiti, eventually died of the virus on July 16, knowing the lengths her son had gone to be with her at the end. Thankfully, someone captured the moving image of Al-Suwaiti watching over his mom so that the world could witness the heart-breaking reality of this pandemic, as well as be reminded of the mother-child bond that endures even in the most challenging circumstances.
The image was shared by Mohamad Safa, a United Nations representative and CEO of Patriotic Vision. As millions of people react to the photo, Al-Suwaiti’s heartache is being felt by people around the world.
The son of a Palestinian woman who was infected with COVID-19 climbed up to her hospital room to sit and see his mother every night until she passed away. pic.twitter.com/31wCCNYPbs
— Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) July 18, 2020
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And today we celebrate...