Two kids with cancer want to go to Mecca

murali@thestar.com.my MALACCA: Two children here, who are battling end-stage brain cancer, met over the weekend and found out that they also shared the same dream – to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca and visit Legoland in Johor Baru.

The families of seven-year-old Mohamad Uthman Mohd Saiful and Zarifah Zahraa Zamry, 11, however, said they would not be able to fufil the children’s wish.

Uthman and Zarifah were diagnosed with the same type of brain tumour, medulloblastoma, and are categorised as high risk.

Despite their condition, the two kids turned up for the overnight Relay for Life that ended at Dataran Pahlawan here yesterday morning.

Zarifah has undergone 33 chemotherapy sessions at Hospital Kuala Lumpur and Uthman, 12 sessions, at the same hospital since their diagnosis in 2015.

Both discovered their shared dream when their families met for the first time at the relay organised by the National Cancer Society of Malaysia.

Lorry driver Mohd Saiful Judin, 33, said Uthman had been asking for his wish to be granted since this year.

“My son suddenly went up to his mother and told her he wanted to go see the Kaabah and Legoland,” he said when met at the relay, adding that attempts to seek financial help for his son had been unsuccessful.

“With my meagre salary as a lorry driver and three young children to feed, I can’t afford it,” said Mohd Saiful, whose wife is a kindergarten teacher.

Mohd Saiful said his son wants to make the spiritual journey to Mecca “to pray for world peace and unity”.

“My boy sees that those helping us and giving us moral support come from different backgrounds.

“That’s why he wishes for world peace and unity.... It could be his last wish,” he said, holding back tears.

Zarifah’s father Zamry Abd Rasip, 49, said he quit his job in a government-linked company early last year to take care of his ailing daughter.

“I had no choice but to resign as she has to undergo constant treatment,” he said.

Now, Zamry and his wife Haslinah Abdullah, 48, make delicacies and sell to neighbours in Sungai Petai here.

“Luckily, my eldest daughter is already 24 and helps to supplement the family’s income and accompanies her younger sister when she goes for treatment in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

The father of six said it was also beyond his means to grant his daughter her wish.

Looking on the bright side: Wheel-chair bound Zarifah and her father Zamry at the Relay for Life event. (Right) Uthman with his father Mohd Saiful who also took part in the event.