By SIMON KHOO
simonkhoo@thestar.com.my
KUANTAN: After coming out of a coma and spending 115 days in hospital due to a horrific accident, seven-year-old Ku Norfaizzatu Che Ku Mustaffa is now back at home.
But gone is the cheerful girl she used to be.
Lying helpless in bed, she has to be fed with milk every three hours via an opening in her stomach, bathed and has her diapers changed thrice daily.
But Ku Norfaizzatu is considered fortunate to survive the accident which killed her mother, injured her four siblings and a neighbour.
Her aunt Che Ku Nik Che Ku Muda, 40, said doctors informed them that Ku Norfaizzatu’s chances of recovery was very slim and she could be paralysed for life.
Daily care needed: Che Ku Nik tending to Ku Norfaizzatu at their house in Taman Semambu Satu, Kuantan, yesterday. Looking on is Engku Norfasihah.
Che Ku Nik said the family was advised to care for the girl at home since she had awakened from the coma.
“She can hear us calling her name, moves her fingers slightly and blinks. However, she can’t sit up, talk or eat on her own,” Che Ku Nik said at their home in Taman Semambu Satu near here yesterday.
Relating the ordeal, Che Ku Nik said her sister-in-law Ne @ Mimi Noraini Ab Rani was sending her children – Ku Norfaizzatu, Ku Muhammad Kalmanadha, eight, Ku Kamriadha, 11, Engku Fahmiadha, 14, Engku Norfasihah, 15 – and neighbour Alija Ahmad, 15, to school on July 15.
An oncoming car tried to overtake another vehicle but rammed head on into their vehicle.
“My sister-in-law died at 4pm the same day at the hospital while Ku Norfaizzatu, who was seated in the front passenger seat, suffered serious head injuries.
“She was in a coma,” she said, adding that the other children, all seated behind, escaped with minor injuries.
She and her brother Che Ku Mustaffa, 47, are extremely upset that the driver of the other vehicle – a teacher – who was also warded for injuries, has yet to visit them to apologise and offer her condolences.
“We hope she will get the rightful punishment for driving dangerously.
“For now, we can only hope for Ku Norfaizzatu to recover and pray for a miracle,” she added.
She said the family was also facing financial difficulties in taking care of Ku Norfaizzatu as the milk powder she fed on was costly.
“We also need to buy diapers and tubes to feed her,” she said, adding that the family had already spent most of their savings to buy a special bed, pay for the operations on her stomach and a device to help her breathe.
The family was grateful to the girl’s school – SJK (C) Semambu – for initiating a collection and channelling some cash to them for the past four months.
Those who wish to help the family can contact the representative of the lawyer’s firm who took up the case – Teo Theam Huat – at 016-9888 668.
They can also visit the family at No 24, Lorong Semambu Baru 91, Taman Semambu Satu, Kuantan.
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