Injured fireman able to move his lips this morning

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, the fireman who was severely injured in the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple fracas, has woken up from his medically-induced comatose condition at the National Heart Institute (IJN) here, where he is being treated.

IJN chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Azhari Yakub said the 24-year old firefighter showed positive development this morning (Nov 30).

He described Muhammad Adib's condition as encouraging and said that the firefighter could respond to some verbal commands from medical experts.

“We categorise him as critical condition, but stable. We, as medical personnel, are encouraged by his progress over the past 24 and 48 hours.

“He is able to understand some instructions and he can move his lips. It's a positive sign to say that his brain function is probably okay,” he added.

As for his other organs, Dr Mohd Azhari said Muhammad Adib's condition was stable with the help of an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which helps his heart and lungs to function well.

He said Muhammad Adib still needed to go through his dialysis treatment and anticipated that the fireman would rely on the machine for at least a couple of days more.

“Due to his injury and low blood pressure over period of time, the kidney has taken a lot, meaning that the kidney is not functioning well. That is the reason why he has to be on dialysis,” he added.

He said that the young firemen was still being kept highly sedated to allow his organs to recover.

On Muhammad Adib's general condition, Dr Mohd Azhari said the firefighter remained critical but stable with signs of encouraging improvement.

He hoped all Malaysian would pray and wished for Muhammad Adib to fully recover.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Md Farid Md Rafik said on behalf of the government, he would like to express his appreciation to the medical specialists at IJN and others involved in helping Muhammad Adib.

He was met by reporters after accompanying the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Nazrin Shah who visited Muhammad Adib earlier Friday. – Bernama