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The Middle East was hit hard after Southeast Asia, especially Iran and then Turkey.
The Turkish government managed to stop a rising rate of infection, but the disease did not go away and continued to claim lives.
“I felt so helpless when I let it go,” Fatih Özçelik told Sky News while holding back tears.
Fatih, a chemical engineer at the Turkish Ministry of Health, helped build the first COVID-19 testing laboratory in Turkey, but was unable to save his father despite all his efforts and access.
Kemal Özçelik, 66, and his wife, Dudu, 62, diligently followed the pandemic quarantine for the elderly for five months.
Kemal Özçelik when he was young
Kemal Özçelik as a young man
When Turkey’s restrictions eased in June, the couple adopted a half-normal routine and met their three children and six grandchildren outside.
“He had an hour of play with my son that day in August,” Fatih said.
“He was so happy, so content, feeling alive again.”
Kemal (L) and Dudu (second from left) were infected
Kemal (L) and Dudu (second from left) were infected
Then came the fatigue and muscle aches. Shortly after, after a lung scan by a third doctor who ignored a negative COVID test, his diagnosis was confirmed.
Favipiravir, an antiviral drug that Turkey prioritized in its response to COVID but which the world was wary of, did not work as well as expected.
A day after Kemal was admitted to intensive care, Dudu also began showing symptoms. She was unaware of how serious her husband’s condition had become, thinking that he was recovering in the hospital where her grandson had been born eight months earlier.
“I didn’t have the courage to tell Mom and I was afraid the news would make her situation worse,” Fatih said.
“We buried him in the blink of an eye under heavy restraints, I couldn’t comfort him, be there for him and my mother didn’t even know it.”
Dudu responded well to favipiravir treatment. The moment she was discharged, she silently demanded a visit to the cemetery.
Fatih heard her whispering desperately, “How could you leave me alone, my love? What am I supposed to do now?”
