Young man’s death breathes new life into five people
Mahdieh Qazvinian
Staff writer
Hospital workers and medical professionals never forget some instances of brain death in Firouzabadi hospital in Shahr-e Rey.
One such instance occurred when Meisam Aqaie, a 35-year-old father of one and husband passed away in the aftermath of having a brain seizure.
Hundreds of people gathered in the hospital courtyard to honor Meisam by throwing flowers on the ambulance, all the while reciting soulful poems.
Meisam used to visit his mother every day, and was the best husband for his loving wife Najibeh and the kindest of fathers for Mahiaz.
Meisam got home from work on June 26, 2023, feeling nauseous and having a severe headache. He let his wife know that he did not feel well so they headed to the doctor’s office in Shahr-e Rey. The doctor advised Meisam to go to the closest hospital after noticing that he was in an extreme condition.
Meisam and his wife Najibeh were sitting in the back seat of the taxi, and their 5-year-old daughter, Mahiaz sat in the front seat next to the driver. The young man called his daughter in a shaky voice.
“My sweetest daughter...,” and caught his daughter’s hand and said his last goodbye to the apple of his eyes. Mahiaz did not know that this is her last meeting with her father.
Zohreh Mobbasheri, Meisam’s mother, says, “It’s hard to see your son’s life hangs by a thread.”
“It was around 7:00 p.m. when I reached Meisam in hospital. His eyes were wide open, and I held his hand. He said to me, ‘Mom, I’m dying… take care of my daughter.’ As soon as he said these words he went into a coma.”
Meisam was the eldest son of his family, and his brother was his closest friend. As a child, he used to be playfully charming, and his best personality trait was his abounding respect towards his parents and the elders. He was a forgiving soul, without any extravagant pride.
After Meisam’s eyes were closed in the emergency room, he was taken to the intensive care unit. He was kept there until July 1, 2023. During these five days, his mother and wife hardly ever left his side, visiting him in the ICU as often as they could.
“I used to go to Meisam, taking his hand, asking him to get up. I told him that you are a strong boy and you should return home with me. I recorded Mahiaz’s voice and kept playing it for him, wishing he would open his eyes and start speaking,” Zohreh said, with a hint of tragedy in her voice.
After five days in the ICU, the medical staff of the hospital held a meeting with Meisam’s family. In light of his consciousness level, they asked them to donate his organs.
Upon hearing the request, his mother left the room, because she could not stand the thought of her son never returning home. But she gradually came around, and on the morning of July 2, 2023, Zohreh signed the donation form, kissing his son goodbye. Meisam’s heart, liver, kidneys, lungs and intestines were donated to five needy patients.
Meisam’s loss is a wound so deep for the Aqaie family – one that even time could hardly heal; yet, donating his organs was an act of grace that brought them some peace of mind.
Aqaie family believed that all these events were arranged in a way that Meisam would have the proper ending that such a life deserves. Now, they have accepted his death as destiny, seeking comfort in the fact that his death has not been in vain.
Zohreh has kept some of his shirts and whenever she feels grief-stricken and lonely, she picks one up smell it to – perhaps partially – mend her broken heart.
Now Aqaie family knows that their son’s heart beats to keep a 17-year-old girl alive, and the knowledge helps them cope with their son’s passing with more ease.
Meisam is far from dead. As long as his organs keep others alive, his memory will never fade.