One realised his dream of riding in a BMW sports car, while the other fulfilled her wish of being a ‘soldier’.
One week after living his dream of riding in a white BMW sports car, 11-year-old Muhd Hafizzudin Alias succumbed to stage four brain cancer at home in Sungai Petani yesterday, Berita Harian reported.
His mother, Husna Naut, 43, said Hafizuddin had just been discharged from the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital on Sunday after being treated for high fever.
“He was (at) the hospital for four days (and was brought home on Sunday).
“But he experienced breathing difficulties since this morning.
“He looked each of us in the face, (as if) he was telling us that he was leaving us forever.
“(He) passed away peacefully at noon,” Husna was quoted as saying tearfully.
She said her family has accepted the loss of Hafizuddin, who was diagnosed with brain cancer when he was just 4-years-old.
The third of four siblings, Hafizzudin will be buried in Husna’s hometown at Tualang, Pokok Sena, at 11am on Saturday.
A week ago, Auto Bavaria, the country’s largest BMW distributor, had fulfilled Hafizzudin’s wish by taking him on a ride in a BMW i8.
An avid collector of toy cars, the boy’s favourite item was a BMW sports car.
A day earlier, cancer patient Nurul Syahidatul Addawiyah Mainim died three weeks after the armed forces fulfilled her dream of becoming a ‘soldier’.
The 13-year-old girl, fondly known as Yaya, died at her grandmother’s home in Kampung Contoh Putatan, Penampang, Sabah, at about 4.30pm, Berita Harian reported.
When contacted by the Malay daily on Friday, her aunt Sulastri Tongot, 32, said Yaya’s condition worsened after she vomited several times on Wednesday evening.
“She became weak and unconscious. Yesterday morning, she was breathing slowly.
“She no longer responded when her name was called but only reacted to pain. We accept her passing and she will be remembered,” Sulastri was quoted as saying.
Yaya had been staying with her aunt since small and they lived in a house belonging to Sulastri’s 62-year-old mother, Bunia Kayun, who is also Yaya’s grandmother.
On Oct 31, Yaya’s dream of becoming a soldier was fulfilled for one day at Lok Kawi camp, where she experienced the life and duty of a soldier.
In the specially arranged visit, she was taken for a tour of exhibition booths displaying communications devices and military firearms set up at the brigade headquarters. She was also given the opportunity to hold firearms.
Yaya’s dream of becoming a soldier was inspired by her late grandfather who was a member of the Territorial Army Regiment.
The former SK Contoh pupil was diagnosed with a brain tumour last November, just after sitting for her Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) exam.
Surgeries to remove the tumour were performed in November and December last year. Yaya was warded at the Likas Women and Children’s Hospital between January and April this year where she underwent 54 radiotherapy sessions.
She underwent a third surgery on Sept 21 after her cancer reemerged.
Yaya was laid to rest at the Kampung Contoh Muslim cemetery, on Friday morning.