Video: UAE nurse recalls first Covid case she treated

Abu Dhabi - Frontliner says she came to the country because of her love for the late Sheikh Zayed.

Zainab Ahmed Fahim's father used to say that nurses sit among the angels.

A dedicated frontline hero today, it's no surprise that she remembers the very moment she decided to become a nurse herself. Sitting devotedly by her father’s bedside in a hospital in her native Egypt, she was struck by the impact nurses had on people’s lives — not to mention, the high esteem with which they were held by patients and medical staff alike.

“My father dreamed that one of his daughters would become a nurse — and I answered his wishes,” she says.

Now 52, Zainab has been working as a nurse in the UAE for more than three decades. “My husband and I chose to come to the UAE because we loved the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan — and had heard so much about this growing country. The people here are so kind and respectful, no matter who you are and where you come from.”

Zainab is one of the frontline heroes who have been recognised by the Frontline Heroes Office for taking exceptional measures to protect people’s wellbeing during the pandemic.

With cases still prevalent, healthcare professionals, including Zainab, are continuing to treat Covid-19 patients, working long hours and sacrificing their family lives to help others.

Thinking back to the early days of the pandemic, she said: “I was shocked — we had never seen anything like it. Every day, we got new insights and details about a novel disease that created as much fear as illness."

When Umm Al Quwain Hospital informed her of the first suspected case, she immediately took the assignment. "I contacted the patient and explained details about Covid-19 to him. I asked him about his symptoms. He had a slight fever and tested positive for the virus, so we had to take him to quarantine."

Zainab soon found herself racing down the highway in an ambulance to pick up Umm Al Quwain’s first Covid-19 patient. "He was terrified, and I tried to calm him. I gave him my phone number in case he needed anything. We spoke several times during his quarantine, and I reached out to his contacts to take them in for quarantine as well. Eventually, the patient recovered. We have remained in touch and regularly send each other greetings and messages.”

During the pandemic, Zainab had to draw on all of her 31 years of nursing experience. When she arrived in the UAE with her husband, her first job was at the Accident and Emergency department at Sharjah’s Al Qasimi Hospital.