KOTA KINABALU: Spending weeks in hospital is tough, more so for once active teenagers who would rather be in school, or at home with their families.
Boredom quickly sets in as stepping out to walk around would expose them to infections. Confining them to the ward, their daily routine revolving around treatment and meal times.
Three boys at Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s hematology ward perked up when the Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia (CWS) represented by board member Jaswinder Kaur Kler, gave them game consoles recently.
Mohd Syazwan Sabturani, 12; Oliver Juanis, 13; and Jackson Kiboh, 17, whose beds are next to one another, sat up and looked at the boxes containing hand-held game machines, taking a few moments to open their gifts after being coaxed to do so by their parents.
Within minutes, the three thankful teenagers were beaming, each engrossed with their new gadgets.
Mohd Syazwan of Tawau is diagnosed with suspected acute leukemia, while Jackson from the interior region of Nabawan has T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Both are at terminal stage.
Oliver, from Keningau, is suffering from severe Hemophilia A, a blood disorder that requires complete bed rest due to tendency to bleed easily.
CWS is a national charity dedicated to filling wishes of children with terminal and life-threatening illnesses, and has since 2008 granted about 20 wishes in Sabah.
Jackson’s father Kiboh Gaban, a farmer in his sixties, said his son, the sixth of eight children, suddenly fell sick over two months ago, and had to be pulled out of Form Five at SMK Nabawan.
“His gums started bleeding and there was some blood on his skin too. My wife and I are both staying with him here as our village is too far away.
“We would like to thank CWS for the gift and we hope it will make our son’s stay at hospital more bearable,” Kiboh said, glancing at Jackson.
Jamilah Tawaka whose son Mohd Syazwan first started showing symptoms in February through a swollen neck and chest pains, said she is constantly worried about his condition.
“I resigned as a clerk at a plantation company to take care of my son. Now that we have to be in Kota Kinabalu, my husband is taking care of our younger son back in Tawau.
“Mohd Syazwan used to be active in school, and we were shocked when told he has leukemia,” Jamilah said.
Meanwhile, Juanis Gunsan, said his son Oliver has been sick since he was a baby, and the boy was very bored spending his days at wards.
“This gift will help him as there is nothing for Oliver to do whenever he is warded,” Juanis, a farmer, said.