Love in the time of coronavirus: Doctors delay honeymoon to save lives a thousand miles apart

Kashif Chaudhry and Naila Shereen wed in a private ceremony at a mosque in Hawthorne last Friday without guests or fanfare.  

It was a far cry from the lavish multi-day Pakistani-style wedding they’d planned. They were to host 400-plus people in London, followed by a reception in a bucolic English village and a honeymoon in Dubai and the Maldives.

Instead, after a Saturday dinner and a second ceremony at her parents’ home, with relatives joining in online, they said their goodbyes and went to work at their respective hospitals — 1,000 miles apart. They are medical doctors, and their life as newlyweds would have to wait amid the raging pandemic, they agreed.

“We are ready to do our part to save as many lives as we can. The worst isn’t even here yet,” said Chaudhry, a former Englewood resident who practices in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Shereen returned to her job as a chief internal medicine resident at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in central Brooklyn, an epicenter of the global coronavirus outbreak. Chaudhry went back to Iowa, where he specializes in heart rhythm disorders at a hospital.

They did not want to postpone their marriage until after the pandemic subsided, fearing it could last weeks or months.

“There’s a saying: ‘When you know, you know.’ We felt like we know and we’re going to get married, so why wait? We know we were meant for each other,” Chaudhry said.

The virus has turned hospitals into war zones, pushing doctors to their limits. Iowa recorded its first death just this week, but New York City now has 20,000 cases — almost a third of all infections in the U.S. — and more than 285 deaths as of Wednesday night.

Shereen said the scenario was alarming, with her colleagues upset and worried about the escalating crisis. But she's not worried for her own safety, as younger, healthier people seem to be at less risk. Far away, Chaudhry said he is concerned about his wife — but marvels at her determination.

That neither hesitated to part and return to work is hardly surprising. They are dedicated doctors and humanitarians who bonded over a mutual passion for helping others.

Chaudhry knew his wife professionally for several years. They were involved in charitable doctors’ groups that traveled to other countries to deliver medical aid. He implanted pacemakers for patients in Bolivia, while she volunteered at a clinic in Guatemala.

He asked to meet her while visiting New York City last fall, and they immediately hit it off. She was smart, selfless and calming, he said.

“Just all those things make me love her,” he added. “She’s a very beautiful person.”

Shereen said they shared beliefs and values and it was a “natural attraction.”

They were set to marry on March 29 in London, where his parents and brothers live. Her family reserved a banquet hall in the city for a ceremony and reception. His family arranged for an event at a village about 70 miles outside London, where the wedding would continue in the countryside.

The couple had planned to go to Dubai, where his sister lives, before heading to the picturesque islands of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

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A few weeks ago, they called it all off as it became clear amid the pandemic that they could not travel and might be needed at home as medical professionals.

They asked an imam at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Center in Hawthorne, where her family worships, to perform a Muslim marriage ceremony called the Nikah. Shereen’s mother and siblings waited outside, holding sweets and red roses and cheering as they emerged.

The next night, the newlyweds donned the clothing they planned to wear in England. Chaudhry wore a sharp navy tuxedo, while Shereen was draped in an embroidered red gown. They went to her parents’ home in New Windsor, New York, for the second part of the wedding.

Family members read wedding prayers from the Quran via video conferencing. They listened to music and had a lavish feast including chicken biryani, lamb korma and buttered chicken. They cut a store-bought cannoli cake. The couple, her parents and her three siblings sat far apart from one another, at times wearing protective masks.

After the dinner, Shereen drove her new husband to the airport and he returned to Iowa. She went back to Brooklyn. “I wish we could be together, but it’s my professional and ethical duty to be here,” she said.

As chief internal medicine resident, Shereen handles administration, dealing with staffing issues and scheduling. She also sees her own patients, and while none have tested positive for COVID-19, others in the hospital system have.

Medical residents at the hospital are concerned as they see the numbers of patients increase and health care facilities become overwhelmed, she said. They fear they won't be able to deliver the level of care that they are used to giving, but they are "willing" and "stepping up."

While she feels safe, she worries about other, more vulnerable family members.

"Of course I'm worried, because New York is an epicenter," Chaudhry said by telephone. "There are tons of people with coronavirus, and tons of health care workers have already tested positive."

But above all, he said, he is proud. 

“Ordinarily I would have been, but I’m even more proud that she didn’t think twice,” he said. “She put public health before our personal life.”

Chaudhry came to the U.S. from Pakistan in 2008 and was granted asylum as a member of the persecuted Ahmadi community. He lived and worked in Englewood before moving to Boston and then to Iowa, where he is a cardiac electrophysiologist at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids. Iowa has had its own outbreak, with 145 reported cases as of Wednesday, according to the state's Department of Public Health.

Chaudhry, 37, has long been active in interfaith and peace efforts as well as advocacy for the rights of the Ahmadi Muslim minority community. He was awarded the Presidential Service Award by former President Barack Obama in 2011.

He frequently writes for the Huffington Post and other websites about human rights and has posted extensively on social media about coronavirus, urging people to take precautions against its spread.

He hopes that, by telling his story, he can remind the public to be vigilant.

“To the public, I’d say you have it easy: Just stay home,” he said “That’s all you need to do. Don’t socialize, don’t form groups. Just take it easy and practice social distancing and good hygiene and just back off.”

Hannan Adely is an education and diversity reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: adely@northjersey.com Twitter: @adelyreporter