Parents of toddler scalded by hot oil get special visitors
Couple with 2-year-old who suffered third-degree burns visit parents of burn victim to offer comfort
It was all too familiar when Madam Rabia'atul Sa'adiah read on social media on Monday about a horrific accident that left a 15-month-old boy with second-degree burns.
Her own two year-old son had suffered third-degree burns on his arms and legs in a fire at their Circuit Road home in May.
Her son, Muhammad Raqib Norazri, has since shown great progress in his recovery, and housewife Madam Rabia'atul, 25, and husband Norazri Suhaimi, 33, a forklift driver, decided to visit the family affected by the latest incident to give them hope and support.
They acted quickly, visiting Madam Masshitah Abdullah, 31, and her husband, Mr Muhammad Al-Khair Salahuddin, 30, that very afternoon at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH).
The couple have been spending most of their time at the hospital following the accident in their kitchen last Monday, when their son, Aafaa Zuhayr, tipped a frying pan of hot oil on himself. He suffered second-degree burns, turning his mother's world upside down.
Traumatised, she has not stepped into the kitchen since the accident and has been unable to eat, just surviving on a cup of Milo a day.
"We went through whatever they are going through now," Madam Rabia'atul told The New Paper. "We want to give them support."
After arriving at KKH, Mr Norazri and Madam Rabia'atul realised that the similarities ran even deeper.
Aafaa's room at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was the very same one that Raqib was treated in last month. That realisation weighed heavily on Mr Norazri.
From the display glass outside the boy's room in the ICU, he saw little Aafaa being treated. It brought back many painful memories and he fought the tears until he was away from the boy's room.
He said: "I could not control my tears when I saw the child. I faced the same thing, and it made me recall everything."
After composing himself, Mr Norazri and his wife recounted their story to Mr Khair and Madam Masshitah, reassuring them that their son would be fine.
They even took along Raqib, who is starting to walk again after going through ten operations.
Mr Norazri also showed the couple Raqib's injuries and explained his recovery process. The third-degree burns he suffered were worse than Aafaa's second-degree burns.
ENCOURAGED
Mr Khair said that this made him feel more encouraged about his son's situation.
The support was mutual, as Mr Khair and his wife also offered their own words of encouragement to Madam Rabia'atul and Mr Norazri.
"We went there to give them motivation but they were more sympathetic to us," she said.
For Madam Rabia'atul, her best piece of advice was to be strong.
"Once you are strong, then our kids will be stronger. They can feel our pain - if we cry in front of them they will also cry.
"Although it is painful, in front of them we just need to show we are strong," she said.
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