Actor Zayed Khan, best known for his roles in ‘Main Hoon Na’ and ‘Dus’, recently opened up about a deeply challenging moment in his life. In a video shared by his 'Main Hoon Na co-star' Amrita Rao on Instagram, Zayed recounted a terrifying experience when his eldest son, Zidane, faced a life-threatening health crisis at the young age of three.
Zayed Khan recalls the night when his son had a "very bad attack"
Describing the incident, Zayed said, "My elder son, Zidane, had a very big problem called croup at the age of three. It's a respiratory disease that happens on the trachea because of allergens. He had a very bad attack. He almost came to me and said, ‘Papa, help me, I can't breathe.’"
Zayed recalled the urgency as he rushed Zidane to the hospital, where a male nurse, concerned about Zidane's survival, could only nod in uncertainty. "And I could see Zidane, his ancillary muscles were stretching to get in the oxygen," Zayed shared.
He added, "You know, there's nothing like losing a child. And I was like, God, you can't do this. You know, like Daddy, take me. You leave him."
After a long night in the hospital, steroids administered to Zidane began to work by morning, and, fortunately, surgery was avoided. To build his son’s resilience, Zayed began encouraging him to participate in parkour, taekwondo, and gymnastics from the age of five.
“By 8:30 - 9:00 am, we were in the hospital and the steroids started to work on Zidane. And they didn't have to go for the surgery. And from the age of five only I put him in parkour, in taekwondo, in gymnastics,” he said.
Zayed and his wife, Malaika Parekh, whom he married in 2005, are parents to two sons, born in 2008 and 2011. When his first son was born, Zayed chose to quit smoking to ensure his children wouldn't grow up exposed to harmful habits.