KOZHIKODE: It has been over a year since Lini Puthussery, the nurse from Perambra noted for her dedication and sacrifice, succumbed to the Nipah virus infection. However, her family clearly remembers the fateful night she passed away and the physical and emotional battle she underwent on the days preceding her demise.
“She got affected by the infection after attending to Mohammed Sabith, the first patient to die of the disease in Kozhikode. She was, however, quite worried about his health and was extremely upset after his death. When she started showing symptoms of the disease, Lini had taken every small step to ensure the infection does not spread to more people,” said Lini’s husband Sajeesh Puthussery.
Recalling their final hours together, he said, “Even after she fell sick, Lini had taken the effort to call me up every while and assure me she was okay. However, she refused to see our children after she was transferred to hospital, because by then she knew the infection was dangerous”.Lini had earlier worked at Koyili hospital in Kannur and later as a counsellor at AIDS Control Society at Vadakara. After her demise, Sajeesh, who was working in Bahrain, returned to Kerala to take care of their children Rithul and Siddharth.
“The children had a tough time after her death and it took them a while to realise their mother will no longer return. Before her death, Lini had penned a small note for me. As requested in the letter, I took my elder son to Qatar, in April,” said Sajeesh.