To prevent his mom from begging for assistance from others, a teenager equipped with a prosthetic leg persistently aided his mother to run her puri business.
16-year-old Wan Ariff Firdaus Wan Ahmad Affendy suffered from bone cancer, which resulted in the amputation of his left leg four years ago.
According to his mother, Zetty Ferdaus Ramli, 37, Ariff, who’s the eldest of three, was diagnosed with stage four bone cancer back in 2012, after he complained of pain on his left leg.
“Ariff decided to have his leg amputated because he couldn’t endure the pain anymore,” she said.
“A 2kg steel bar was inserted into his leg to replace the cancerous bone, but Ariff couldn’t lift it up because it was very heavy.
“He was at the operation theatre twice monthly for extension of the steel bar. Every time he was out of the theatre, he would cry in pain. This was the reason for Ariff’s determination in having his whole left leg amputated,” Zetty explained.
She added, even though Ariff was verified cancer-free in 2018 after 14 chemotherapy sessions, he still has to go for follow-up treatments every six months at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (PPUM).
Her husband, Wan Ahmad Affendy Wan Mohd Yaakob, who works for a hospital laundry service, only earns enough for daily family necessities. They have to figure out ways to earn more income to cover the cost of going back and forth PPUM located in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Understanding their woes, Ariff offered to help his mother in her puri business.
“My mom used to always borrow money from others to cover medical costs. I’d rather help her to run the business than having to ask for help.
“Every evening, I would help my mom out at her stall in Kampung Sentang, Batu Gajah, after school, from 5.30pm to 9pm” he expressed.
Ariff is currently a Form Four student at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Toh Indera Wangsa Ahmad.
He admitted that he had to let go of feeling embarrassed of himself because he would also like to earn more pocket money to buy his favourite sports gear.
Ariff is an active paralympic sports participant and aspires to represent the country in swimming.
Readers who sympathize with Ariff’s situation may contribute to his father’s Maybank account at Wan Ahmad Affendy Wan Mohd Yaakob 1580 1511 4461.
Rosli Mansor
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