British-Pakistani wakes up from coma to discover mother passed away from COVID-19

A British-Pakistani man woke up from a 25-day coma to discover that his mother had passed away from COVID-19.

According to a report in Geo News, Sohail Anjum went into a coma for almost a month after contracting a severe form of the deadly virus. He was admitted to the Croydon University Hospital in London. When he regained consciousness, he was told that his mother, 81, had passed away a few days after he was admitted to the hospital.

Speaking to the publication, Anjum shared that he was in an induced coma when his mother passed away. He said that his brother was allowed to meet their mother under “exceptional circumstances” as the hospital had been put under lockdown and no visitation was allowed.

He said that his mother asked his brother about him [Sohail] and told him that she was praying for his health.

“I was told that while I was in a coma, it was only when she passed away that my vitals started improving. I believe it was my mother’s prayer before she passed away that saved my life,” said Anjum, who has now returned home after spending six weeks in the hospital. He shared that though he has recovered, he still feels weak and will be requiring physiotherapy to get back on his feet again.

“It’s been an emotional homecoming. I guess I’m not used to not seeing mum around anymore,” said Anjum, in another interview. “She would be the first person I would see whenever I came home and she was constantly checking up on me as mothers do.”

While Anjum is not exactly clear how he contracted the virus, he shares that he regularly travelled on London’s public transport network and could have contracted it from there. He developed symptoms around the second week of March and remained in self-isolation at home. The doctors told him to have paracetamol but when his health worsened and he started having difficulties in breathing, he was taken to the hospital where the doctors put him to an induced sleep. Anjum remained on a ventilator for over three weeks and was then placed under sedation. He woke up after a week. Doctors didn’t tell him his mother passed away to save him from trauma.

However, Anjum said that when he woke up, he was almost certain that his mum had passed away.

“I had a suspicion she had died. It may sound strange, but it came to me in a vision,” he said, adding “We never even got to say goodbye.”

Anjum’s mother had started showing symptoms a few days after he was admitted. She was taken to the same hospital, where she passed away a few days later.

LIVE UPDATES: Coronavirus

Anjum, who is an entertainment executive, has worked with prominent Bollywood and Pakistani celebrities as a photographer. His case garnered a lot of media attention and well-wishes poured in for him from all over the world.