Tareq Al-Thaqafi

• Health care community in Makkah mourns dedicated professional who spent his life in the service of others

MAKKAH: Colleagues, friends and family said farewell on Monday to a Saudi health care hero who helped others to combat the coronavirus, only to succumb to it himself.

Khaled Al-Husseini Al-Sharif, 43, a nurse at King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Makkah, first became ill a month ago, and suffered breathing difficulties. He was transferred to intensive care and placed on a ventilator, but his condition deteriorated and he died on Sunday.

Mourners at Al-Sharif’s funeral on Monday recalled a dedicated and courageous health care professional who spent his life in the health service and whose devotion to duty never wavered.

The medical profession “is feeling a deep sorrow for the loss of one of its heroes, but at the same time proud of Khaled who carved his name among those who stood at the forefront to fight the pandemic,” Makkah health chief Wael Motair said.

Motair described the dead man as one of the best nurses in the hospital, and an inspiring role model for others.

Al-Sharif’s brother Hussein, also a nurse, said that as soon as Khaled showed symptoms of the illness, he had isolated himself from his family so as not to transmit it.

He began to complain of difficulty in breathing and developed acute kidney damage and issues in other vital functions. His immunity was weak and he suffered from diabetes, which he developed a few months ago.

Khaled, who had two brothers and a sister, had been a nurse for 15 years. He leaves behind a seven-year-old son, Ghali.

Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and his deputy Prince Badr bin Sultan extended their condolences to the nurse’s family, and expressed their sincere sympathy.