Tributes have poured in for Shamim Mir, who didn’t display any of the classic symptoms associated with coronavirus except tiredness. The 59-year-old grandmother, from Yardley Wood, had simply complained about being tired after testing positive for Covid before Christmas.
But on New Year’s Eve she became breathless and her worried family called for an ambulance. She was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
Shortly after she arrived she was admitted into intensive care and was placed on a ventilator as her condition deteriorated.
But she suffered multi-organ failure and died on January 13 with her devastated family by her side.
Daughter Dr Naheeda Farooq told BirminghamLive: “My mother was a supply teacher and worked at many secondary schools across the Birmingham area.
“She had been shielding through the pandemic as she suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure. My dad went to work. They both tested positive for Covid just before Christmas. Thankfully my dad recovered but my mom didn’t.
“She didn’t show any classic signs of coronavirus like a cough or high temperature or loss of taste. She was feeling very tired and had bouts of diarrhea.
“On New Year’s Eve she became very unwell and was struggling to breathe. My dad called for an ambulance and she was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
“We spoke to her briefly on Facetime while she was in there but shortly after she was placed on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit.
“Her condition deteriorated and she suffered multi-organ failure. Doctors told us she wasn’t going to make it so we visited her on January 13 where we offered prayers for her and held her hand as she passed away.”
Dr Farooq said her mother was a special lady who had a love for children and a desire for them to do well in life through good education.
Paying tribute to her she said: “Those that met my mother remember her for her smile and her infectious laugh. She was a very caring woman. She loved shopping but not really for herself. She would indulge everyone else.
“She doted on her granddaughter, nieces and nephews.
“She saw education as being incredibly important and pushed myself to be the best I could be in life. She wanted the same for the her pupils at the many schools she taught at.
“She was a very special lady and she will be so greatly missed.”
Dr Farooq’s best friend is Dr Hajra Ashraf. She also lost her father Mohammed Ashraf, who lives in London, of Covid on the same day as her own mother died.
The friends have set up a GoFundMe fundraising page in memory of their parents.
They aim to raise funds to build a new school in rural Pakistan. So far over £9,300 has been raised. To donate to the cause click here.
Dr Farooq said her mother would have been delighted to think money raised would be helped to build a school as education was so important to her.
They posted on GoFundMe: “We are Naheeda and Hajra, two friends who have sadly lost our parents, Shamim Mir aged 59 from Birmingham and Mohammed Ashraf aged 87 from London to COVID 19.
“As daughters we held their hands as they tragically took their last breaths on the same day Wednesday the 13th of January 2021. We take solace in that they have both died as martyrs during this plague.
“We thank you all for your prayers during this difficult time but now we ask for your help. We want to focus on their legacy, not just through their children or the work they did on Earth.
“We are raising money to build a school in rural Pakistan inshAllah as a form of Sadaqah Jariah. If we do not reach our goal we will aim to cover the rest ourselves. If we exceed our goal we will donate this towards the maintenance of existing schools.”
Shamim leaves behind her husband Ehtisham, daughter Naheeda and grandaughter Zunairah.
