UK hospital mourns death of Filipina nurse

BACOLOD CITY –– A hospital in the United Kingdom is mourning the death of a “much loved” Filipina nurse whose husband is from Negros Occidental.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) announced on its website that it lost its Emergency Department nurse Estrella Bersamen Catalan to COVID-19 last Friday. She was 52.

Catalan, who is from Candijay, Bohol, was married to Melvin Catalan, an engineer from La Carlota City, Negros Occidental.

Sam Higginson, NNUH chief executive, said Catalan was a wonderful person and a caring and conscientious nurse who loved to teach and mentor students.

“We know this will be a huge shock to our staff, and over the coming days and weeks, we will formulate a fitting memorial to Estrella in collaboration with her family, friends, and colleagues,” Higginson said.

David White, NNUH chairman, also conveyed his deepest sympathies to Estrella’s family, friends, and colleagues.

Catalan, in a March 19, 2020 post on her Facebook page, wrote: “I joined the war against this virus COVID-19, along with my colleagues as a front-liner, a noble profession that I had chosen since I was young.

“I am obliged to work and face the reality. My only weapon is that I am a believer. Prayer is my key to survive,” she wrote.

According to a GoFundMe page, Catalan fought with all her strength and will, doing all she could to get back to her beloved husband Melvin and their sons John and Josh.

“Estrella promised her family, ‘I will be back,’ when she was taken to the hospital a few weeks ago. Sadly, a promise that she could no longer physically keep after succumbing to such devastating effects of this virus,” the page said.

LZB