The Lebanese cardiologist Sami Abdelreda died after being infected with COVID-19 while working at a hospital in France. He was one of the doctors treating patients affected by that malicious virus.
A father of four, Dr. Abdelreda, 63, is from the village of Qana in the South of Lebanon. He was one of the first doctors who volunteered to tackle the virus in France, and he spent the last days of his life treating patients.
The French website, Le Parisien, stated that the cause of death was not only due to Dr. Abdelreda’s infection with coronavirus but also because of heart problems he suffered.
According to Le Parisien, Dr. Abdelreda was the doctor of the French Cergy-Pontoise ice hockey team Jockers. He worked at a French hospital in L’Isle-Adam and was admitted to intensive care prior to his death.
The hospital where Dr. Abdelreda worked stated that his colleagues and friends at the hospital, as well as all the staff, were particularly affected by his death. “His smile, dedication, kindness and always positive frame of mind will be missed by all,” the hospital explains.
The mayor of L’Isle-Adam, Sébastien Poniatowski, also chairman of the board of the Chantepie-Mancier Foundation, expressed his grief at the loss of Dr. Abdelreda, saying that the doctor was “an extremely benevolent and very competent person. He was appreciated by patients and colleagues alike.”
Nous avons l’immense tristesse de vous annoncer le décès cette nuit du Docteur Sami Reda.
— Les Jokers (@les_jokers) March 27, 2020
Le HCCP pense très fort à lui et à sa famille dans ce moment particulièrement douloureux et injuste.
Le club va réfléchir à la meilleure manière de lui rendre hommage.
Repose en paix Sami ! pic.twitter.com/Qfv6nIkwfF
His loss stirred sorrow among the hockey team members, according to Le Parisien. Expressions of grief by the team members were numerous on Twitter as they were giving tribute to the doctor and encouraging each other to “hang on.”
“It’s unfair,” manager of the Jokers Christophe Cuzin said to Le Parisien, “We are hurt as it happened suddenly. Sami had been our volunteer doctor for four years. He was present at all our matches.”
“Unfortunately, we will not be able to go to his funeral but when we come out of quarantine, we will pay tribute to him. We want his memory to last because he was really a good person,” Cuzin said.
Doctors and health workers around the world are being called “heroes of this war” for their unwavering sacrifices to save the world from this pandemic, some at the expense of their own life. Dr. Sami Abdelreda is one of them.
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