Compiled by C. ARUNO, MAHADHIR MONIHULDIN and R. ARAVINTHAN
WHILE Anna Jobling made a young fan’s day when she met up with the girl who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the actress says it has also taught her to be more appreciative of her supporters.
According to Harian Metro, the 23-year-old celebrity described her meeting with eight-year-old Sofia Suffian and her family in Tampin, Negri Sembilan, as a special moment that truly touched her heart.
“We spent four hours together and I wanted it to be a wonderful time for Sofia.
“Her parents said she was an active girl who loved to sing and dance back when she was well.
“The highlight of our time together was when she shared her crackers and Raya cookies with me and not anyone else!” said Anna.
Sofia’s father, Suffian Mili, 43, said Anna’s visit truly lit up the girl’s day.
“Sofia was thrilled to meet Anna and prepared a gift card for her the day before.
“She wanted to write something on it even though it was difficult for her (due to her condition). My nephew helped her prepare the card.
“Sofia was shy meeting Anna at first but quickly opened up to her and felt comfortable,” said Suffian.
He said his daughter was diagnosed with SMA when she was five after showing signs of nerve complications.
“She was fine when she was born but over time we noticed she had trouble walking properly. We sent her to the orthopaedic doctor and he said she had nerve issues.
“We then sent her blood sample to the United States and found out she has SMA,” he said.
Suffian said Sofia had to be admitted to the hospital for three months last year due to an infection on three occasions.
“She got an infection when she started school last year, and later when she was admitted to the hospital, she started losing her voice.
“She could not walk and needed 24-hour oxygen support.
“She can’t continue schooling and will most likely have to be studying online from now on,” he said.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
