Death of Viqarunnisa student from dengue
'Our daughter didn’t give us time, she left all of a sudden'
Ilma Jahan was a science student of class XI at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College. Parents dreamt she would be a physician, but Ilma Jahan wanted to join Bangladesh Army after higher secondary or become an engineer. All of their dreams are past now as she died of dengue after fighting for life for five days on Monday night.
Ilma Jahan’s mother Maksuda Akter and father Md Iqbal Kabir couldn’t bear loss of their daughter. This correspondent talked to them over mobile phone on Tuesday. When the conversation started, they both said, “Ilma’s parents speaking.”
At one point, Maksuda Akter was heard crying on the other end of the mobile phone. Iqbal Kabir took a long breath and said, “Our daughter didn’t give us time, she left us all of a sudden. Now it has been difficult to manage her mother. ”
Iqbal Kabir said Ilma caught a fever on the afternoon of 29 June, the day of Eid-ul-Azha. The next day, she tested positive for dengue and her platelet count was 145,000. As her platelet count dropped, Ilma was admitted to the capital’s Ad-Din Hospital and she died around 9:30pm.
Iqbal Kabir further said his daughter’s first namaz-e-janaza was held at their residence in Malibagh and another namaz-e-janaza was held in their village in Brahmanbaria where she was buried at family graveyard.
Ilma’s parents, and his brother, who studies at a university, are now at their village.
Iqbal Kabir was at the hospital with his daughter. He said, “Where did I get the time? That day she walked to the car from our house and again walked to the hospital after getting down from the car. She said in the morning she was hungry, so nurse wanted to give her soup. Since her mother would bring soup, she didn't eat the soup of the hospital. I brought her soup from the hospital canteen, and I told her to eat it. I also told her that you may eat soup again when your mother brings it. But, my daughter could not eat soup of her mother anymore. She left us before her mother arrived with the soup. ”
Before her demise in the morning, she told her father that she was feeling pain in her abdomen. After a while, she said the pain had slightly subsided. Iqbal Kabir advised her to rest and sleep.
However, the girl started feeling uneasy shortly after the slight improvement. Iqbal Kabir said, "After 15 to 20 minutes, everything, including her blood pressure, began to fluctuate randomly. The girl complained of a burning sensation in her chest and developed seizures. She was then placed on life support."
Iqbal Kabir, who works at a bank, said everything had already finished by the time her mother reached the hospital with food.
It was too tough to let her know about the daughter’s death at the moment. She was told that the girl had been shifted to another facility for treatment. At one stage, she was sent back home along with two of relatives.
Later in the afternoon, she was told that her daughter was no more.
Their grief knows no bounds. Iqbal Kabir yelled, “The girl was feeling a pain in her body. She might have thought eating pineapple would bring her some relief. She sought to have pineapple, but unfortunately, she did not give any time to feed it.”
Iqbal Kabir shared that they reside on the 9th floor of a 10-story building in Malibagh. There are no mosquito breeding grounds within their residence. The girl used to attend coaching classes in Siddheshwari, in addition to her regular commute to the college. It is difficult to say precisely where she may have been bitten by a mosquito.
He further said, “I have lost my daughter. Who else can I blame? It was written in our destiny. I still cannot believe that she is no longer with us. She was involved with Scouts, BNCC, and debate competitions — so many things she did. On the day before Eid, she adorned her hands with henna and did the same for others. She was very precious to us. Now, she is gone.”
The acting principal of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College expressed condolences on behalf of the school family through a Facebook group.