PETALING JAYA: The late Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali expressed her appreciation to the medical team who had cared for her and her husband, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, just a day before her death last Monday.
K. Divya Barathy, 30, the head nurse overseeing the team caring for the couple, said Siti Hasmah had spoken to the medical staff about her impending death and thanked them for looking after both of them.
Divya recalled that Siti Hasmah told her the day before she died that she felt it was time for her to leave.
“She also thanked us for taking care of her and her husband. I told her, ‘Please don’t say that, Tun.’
“I never thought that she would pass away the following morning. Her words have stayed with me and are still difficult to accept,” Divya was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.
Divya said she had served as the couple’s head nurse for the past five years, working alongside nurses Tiffany Chen Kah Lim, 28, M Suganya, 29, and Nur Shahnila Amyra Mohd Saad, 31.
Physiotherapist Choo Zhang Hui, also known as Kevin Choo, 31, was also part of the team.
She said the team remained close to Mahathir during Siti Hasmah’s funeral, concentrating on his wellbeing and providing whatever assistance he needed.
“We helped him maintain hand hygiene, gently massaged his legs to ease his discomfort and stayed close to him throughout.
“For me, it was difficult to simply tell him, ‘It’s okay, Tun’ or ‘You have to be strong, Tun’, because I had seen how deeply they cared for each other.
“I did not want to lessen his grief by offering words that might sound too simple. We just wanted him to know that we were there for him,” she said.
Divya also thanked members of the public for their concern and words of support for the medical team, Mahathir and the family.
She described caring for the couple as a team effort and said she was grateful for the opportunity to serve them over the years.
“Caring for the couple was a collective responsibility for our entire team. I am grateful that I was able to carry out this duty alongside them with such care and affection.
“I am deeply thankful to God for giving my team and me the opportunity to serve them.
“Beyond the honour of caring for a national figure, I will always treasure the warmth and affection we shared with them,” she told BH.
Siti Hasmah, 100, died at the National Heart Institute (IJN) at 9.20am last Monday.
She was later laid to rest at the National Mausoleum (Pusara Negara) in Precinct 20, Putrajaya, following funeral prayers at As Syarif Mosque in Taman Sungai Besi Indah, Serdang.
