Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s son passed away on Monday morning at the age of 26 due to prolonged medical condition. Zain Nadella was born with Cerebral Palsy and within a few hours of his birth, he was rushed to Seattle Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. He required specialized care, around the clock.
The eldest of the three siblings, Zain experienced asphyxiation in utero and was born weighing just 3 pounds. Due to his unique medical condition which affects a kid in every 345 children, he communicated non-verbally and always used a wheelchair.
Microsoft informed its top executives about Zain Nadella’s passing via email. The message also asked the managers and heads to send their thoughts and prayers to the Nadella family. Microsoft’s chief people officer Kathleen Hogan said in a message, according to Geekwire, “The best way right now is to hold him and his family in your thoughts and prayers, while allowing them the privacy and peace to process such a grave loss.”
A spokesperson for the company told THE HILL on Tuesday “Very sadly Satya’s son Zain Nadella has passed away. The Nadellas are taking time to grieve privately as a family.”
Nadella family has always been supportive of various good causes associated with disabled kids. According to a journal published in May, Seattle Children’s Hospital dedicated an endowed chair post in honor of Zain. The hospital also mentioned that “Zain has had to struggle against tremendous adversity due to his medical condition.”
The Microsoft CEO and his wife Anupama had donated $15 million to the Seattle Children’s Hospital. In Satya Nadella’s 2017 memoir “Hit Refresh”, he mentioned that he was devastated upon learning the details of his son’s birth and his medical issues. “But mostly I was sad for how things turned out for me and Anu”, he wrote. “Thankfully, Anu helped me to understand that it was not about what happened to me. It was about deeply understanding what had happened to Zain, and developing empathy for his pain and his circumstances while accepting our responsibility as his parents.”
“As parents, our lives have been shaped by the needs of our children, and it is our hope that in honoring Zain’s journey, we can improve and innovate care for future generations in every community”, Anu said in a statement at the time. “Even in his most vulnerable moments, Zain shows great resilience and strength, which inspires me,” she wrote in an essay for Good Housekeeping.
Watching their son “struggle against tremendous adversity due to his medical condition” had a profound impact on his family, the hospital wrote. “His journey has shaped the Nadella family’s story to one of resilience, empathy, and determination to realize the promise of a brighter future for children with neurological conditions.”
At this time, we pray for the beautiful departed soul and offer our deepest condolences to the Nadella family and the well-wishers.