The family of a woman critically injured in a devastating car crash faced an agonising dilemma this week—whether to inform her that all four of her sons had died while she lay sedated in hospital.
R.R., who sustained severe neck and shoulder injuries, was admitted for intensive care following the accident and required urgent surgery. Doctors advised the family not to disclose any distressing information while her condition remained unstable. She was placed on a suction pump and kept under heavy sedation after the operation, which was completed successfully on Monday.
Painful questions, withheld truth
A relative who travelled from Bahrain said that when R.R. briefly regained consciousness late Monday night, she repeatedly asked about her children—whether they were injured and if anyone had seen them—unaware that all four had passed away.
By Tuesday morning, R.R. was fully conscious. Her husband initially feared that telling her the truth could jeopardise her recovery. After discussions with extended family members, however, they decided she must be informed before the burials. “He felt it would be wrong for the children to be buried without her knowing,” a relative said.
Tragedy on return from festival
The crash occurred in the early hours of Saturday as the family and their housemaid were returning to Dubai after visiting the Liwa festival. Three children and the housemaid died at the scene, while the fourth child succumbed to injuries later in hospital.
Mother’s final wish honoured
Hospital grief counsellors broke the news to R.R. on Tuesday, with family members stepping away during the disclosure. “She was devastated,” a relative said. “Afterward, she insisted on seeing her children one last time.”
The boys’ bodies were washed and shrouded in Abu Dhabi according to Islamic rites, and funeral prayers were offered there. Although the transfer to Dubai was scheduled by noon, arrangements were delayed to fulfil the mother’s request.
Despite severe pain and a cast on her leg, R.R. was taken by ambulance to see her sons before their burial.
Burial and family support
The four boys were laid to rest at Qusais Cemetery on Tuesday after the Asr prayer, attended by hundreds of mourners. R.R.’s mother and sister, who arrived in the UAE on Monday evening, remained with her at the hospital along with her only surviving child, a 10-year-old daughter.
The children’s father, also injured in the crash, requested discharge to attend the burial.