Even on her deathbed, Boholana nurse Estrella Catalan still thought of others’ wellbeing.

Pacita Bersamen, Catalan’s mother, said in an interview with station dyRD that in one of her last conversations with her daughter, the late 52-year-old nurse reminded her to keep safe amid the pandemic which has taken the lives of more than 2 million people.  

Catalan was already under critical care at the time after she tested positive for COVID-19.

“Didto siya sa hospital gi tauran na og dextrose, nanawag siya nako ug akong pagumangkon, na ‘nanay ug Dexter pag amping mo kanunay diha’,” said Bersamen on Wednesday.

Catalan who was an emergency room nurse at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) in the UK for 18 years succumbed to complications caused by the respiratory disease on Friday last week.

On Monday, more than 100 personnel of the NNUH gathered outside the health facility to pay tribute to Catalan. They offered a moment of silence then a minute-long applause to the Candijay native.

She touched the lives of many that various UK news outlets including media giant BBC had a coverage of her death.

Prior to her passing, BBC News interviewed Catalan who was then treated for COVID-19.

As she cried through breathing tubes with her labored breathing she said: “I want to help but I don’t know when.”

Catalan said she felt “helpless” and she would not “mind working and doing even extra shifts to help the trust, but I’m here as a patient.”

Chief executive of NNUH NHS Foundation Trust, Sam Higginson, said that Catalan, who had worked at the hospital since 2002, “will be terribly missed.”

“She touched so many people’s lives. She was always kind and supportive of colleagues,” Higginson said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Alexie Tutor of the third district and Councilor Along Olandria of Candijay have visited Bersamen in her home following her daughter’s death.

Tutor described Catalan as a “fallen hero.”

“In the row of fallen heroes, a Candijaynon is among them. A life lost yet not lost in vain for it was with a higher purpose. People who came to know Estrella will always be proud of who she was & how she made them feel,” she said. (RT)

NOTE: Those who wish to offer support to Estrella’s family may do so through a fund drive initiated by her colleagues. https://www.gofundme.com/…/in-loving-memory-of-estrella…