KUALA SELANGOR: An 11-year-old cancer patient - Muhammad Danish Maarif - got his wish when Lego Malaysia and Legoland Malaysia came to his home here on Wednesday afternoon.
Muhammad Danish, who is currently fighting a form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma was met at his home by three mascots from Legoland Malaysia; Lego Darth Vader, Lego Builder and Lego Policeman as well as representatives from Lego Malaysia and Legoland bearing gifts from the theme park.
The Legoland team has also decorated his room with items in an adventure theme to make it looks like a Legoland Malaysia Hotel room as much as possible.
Speaking to The Star when met at his home, Muhammad Danish's mother Suhaida Mohamad said that Lego has always been her son's passion.
"Lego has always been his passion, and we bought him what we could afford. But ever since he became sick, he kept asking for Lego to help him pass the time and I would go out to find Lego for him. He likes cars, lorries but he's happy as long as he gets Lego. In the past, he used to repair his remote-controlled cars when they were spoiled. He is really creative," she said.
Suhaida added that Muhammad Danish had been receiving treatment at Hospital Kuala Lumpur until last week when the doctors there said that there was no more that they could do for him.
"He is a very good boy, and he tries his best to not place demands on me. I never expected to see that his request would lead to this, and I am very thankful. We never thought that people would do this for him. He has been smiling, a sign that he is very happy," added Suhaida.
Another mother at Wednesday's event - Mary Anne Loh - said that the "Legoland For Danish" project kicked off when she and a few friends got to know of Muhammad Danish's wish to visit Legoland Malaysia.
"The positive response is great, the love, support and kindness is something that Malaysia needs; it shows the humanity is still there bringing all walks of life together. It is amazing. People have been giving on their own initiative," she said.
Also present at the event was Lego Malaysia country manager Dick Yoong, who said the event was a great collaborative effort between Lego Malaysia, Legoland Malaysia and Lego fans.
"When the story broke in The Star Online on Monday, we were frantically trying to get in touch with Muhammad Danish's parents and his doctor to see what his condition was and to see how we can help bring awesome into his life. We brought Lego and Legoland into his home to cheer him up," said Yoong.
He said that this was the first project of this kind done by Lego Malaysia.
"This is the first time we got the news from the mainstream media. In the past we had some people writing in and we gave some small contributions here and there, but this is by far the biggest we have done. We had no idea about this case until it was highlighted in The Star," he said.
Yoong added that the real heroes are the parents and the doctors who are supporting these children in the hospitals, as well as the parents who are running the support groups.
"They are the real heroes because they are the ones who make the difference in the lives of these children day-in, day-out," said Yoong.
Meanwhile, Interim General Manager at Legoland Malaysia Resort Young Pil Kim said that Legoland was touched by what was reported about Muhammad Danish.
"It’s a heartbreaking story for us as every child deserves the right to play and build their dream. Despite not being able to bring Danish to Legoland Malaysia Resort, we hope we were able to bring Legoland Malaysia Resort to him. I am really thankful to the people involved in helping Muhammad Danish and bringing this matter to the public,” said Young.
