Couple who only spent 12 days together after marrying in 2019 battle open-heart surgery

A husband and wife who spent just 12 days together after getting married in Bangladesh two  years ago has been reunited ahead of life-saving surgery.

Kazi Hossain, 33, knew he wanted to marry Tania, 31, the first time they met in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka in 2015, after she accidentally sent him a message on Facebook thinking he was someone else.

Sparks flew and they were together for four years before Kazi got a visa to work in food manufacturing in Tasmania in 2019, pledging to make a long-distance relationship work.

When Kazi made an unexpected return to his hometown to see his cancer-stricken father in September of that year, he plucked the courage to propose and they were married later that month.

They planned to apply for her Australian visa before he flew back to Tasmania for work – despite spending little more than a week together after their nuptials – but their plans were thrown into disarray when borders were closed amid Covid-19.

Married couple Kazi Hossain and Tania (pictured together) have finally been reunited after sending two years apart

They got married in 2019 when Kazi returned to Bangladesh to see his father, who was diagnosed with cancer

They got married in 2019 when Kazi returned to Bangladesh to see his father, who was diagnosed with cancer

‘My work hours reduced and I was stressed about possibly losing my job because of the pandemic,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.

‘At the same time, my brothers and sisters were paying for my dad’s cancer treatment and I had to arrange my wife’s $4000 visa fees.’

With reduced pay and no way of seeing his family for the foreseeable future, he took out a loan to help cover his father’s cancer treatment bills and for Tania’s visa.

Her visa was granted in January this year, but Covid-19 border closures meant she was stranded in Bangladesh indefinitely.

In a desperate bid to appeal to the government and get his wife exemption to travel to Australia, Kazi joined a Facebook group that was supposedly dedicated helping people obtain exemptions and visas.

The group administrators told him in May they could help with the exemption if he paid $500 for four applications, but none of the attempts were successful.

Pictured: The moment Kazi picked Tania up from hotel quarantine with a bunch of flowers

Pictured: The moment Kazi picked Tania up from hotel quarantine with a bunch of flowers

They couple had a lot of miscommunications trying to maintain their relationship on the phone

They couple had a lot of miscommunications trying to maintain their relationship on the phone

The same month, Kazi was visiting his sister in Melbourne for Eid – a Muslim celebration to celebrate the end of Ramadan – but had to fly home early due to extreme stomach pain.

He went to hospital in Tasmania and was told he needed to have his appendix removed immediately.

‘When I went in to the operating theatre, the surgeon and anesthetist found out I had a heart murmur, which they later figured out was because I had a hole in my heart,’ he said.

The doctors explained the hole – known as atrial septal defect – had been there since birth and somehow gone unnoticed.

If the hole isn’t surgically patched, it could cause high blood pressure in the lung arteries causing permanent damage, or heart failure in the worst case scenario.

Pictured: Kazi and Tania enjoying a day out after they were finally reunited in early October

Pictured: Kazi and Tania enjoying a day out after they were finally reunited in early October

Kazi and Tania and Tania dated for about four years before they decided to get married in 2019

Kazi and Tania and Tania dated for about four years before they decided to get married in 2019

‘My whole life was turned upside down – it shattered me completely,’ he said.

‘I’ve always been a sports person playing in cricket clubs, diving and doing everything a normal person would do without any problems.

‘I was thinking about life and death, and my wife lost all hope of seeing me again.’

When he went to ask the travel exemption Facebook group why his applications were rejected, he realised he’d been blocked from the group.

Kazi later found out he’d been scammed – the admins, reviews and comments in the group were all fake.

Having lost almost all hope of seeing his wife again, he joined the Australian Travel Exemption Support group on Facebook – and said the people in it changed his life.

Kazi thanked everyone in a Facebook group for helping him apply for Tania's travel exemption

Kazi thanked everyone in a Facebook group for helping him apply for Tania’s travel exemption

‘Every single member, especially the admins, are the most helping people I have ever came across in my life.

‘That group shows the real Australia.’

With their help, he made his seventh travel exemption application with medical certificates and proof that he had no family in Tasmania, and would not be able to look after himself after open-heart surgery.

One group member stayed up with him until 2am to ensure he had all the right documentation and knew exactly what he was doing before submitting his final application.

On September 17, their second wedding anniversary, the couple finally booked Tania’s flight from Bangladesh to Melbourne and her hotel quarantine room.

Tania's flight from Bangladesh to Melbourne was booked for September 17 - their second wedding anniversary

Tania’s flight from Bangladesh to Melbourne was booked for September 17 – their second wedding anniversary 

Kazi knew he wouldn’t be able to collect her from the airport due to quarantine rules, but he still went to see her when her plane landed.

‘Funny part is she took a little while to recognise me at the airport and video called to check if it was me or someone else,’ he said.

‘We both get emotional thinking of our journey being separated and going through all the things we did to get here today.’ 

After two years and 15 days, they were reunited last Friday.

In another positive turn of events for their family, Kazi’s father is now cancer-free.

He thanked the Facebook group for supporting their plight to be together, and said the experience taught them how important it is to see loved ones in person.

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk