KOTA KINABALU: Teenager Jessica Magdelina is suffering from end-stage renal failure and going for hospital visits is part of her life now.
However, she got a fun change to her tiresome but much-needed fixed schedule for a day when she was offered a ‘modelling job’ organised by the Children Wish Society of Malaysia (CWS) and Talent Shop Sabah.
The 13-year-old extremely shy girl was ecstatic when she was told that she would have her wish granted.
She was smiling non-stop though spoke a little when she was brought to the mall for a shopping spree with her elder sister Jeslina Adriana before her photoshoot session in the city here recently.
She chose her attire for the shoot herself and requested that they find a turtleneck as part of their wardrobe change because she wanted to hide the surgically created hole (stoma) on the left side of her neck.
“We were informed by Jessica’s doctor that she was very self-conscious about it. But once she got what she needed, we could see how excited she was to be in the studio for her modelling session,” said CWS Malaysia volunteer Anita Chung, who also accompanied the girls shopping.
Her favourite colours are black, white and pink; true to her fascination for Korean pop (Kpop).
Jessica got pointers on how to pose from the makeup artist, who was a model herself.
One would not know that this was her first stint as she was really talented and could pose just like a model.
She did cute poses like those seen in Korean dramas, as she was a huge fan of Kpop culture and music, said Chung.
CWS Malaysia president Teoh Teik Hoong thanked their wish-granting partner – Talent Shop Sabah and other contributors for making this Tamparuli-hailed girl’s dream come true.
“She had wished to one day become a model. Raised by a single father, she is the youngest in her family and given her difficult social circumstances, her chances of receiving a renal transplant (the curative treatment for kidney failure) are slim,” he said.
“We are glad that we had the opportunity to grant Jessica her wish. The society continues to grant wishes to ailing children across the country, especially in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
Teoh said Jessica had a good time at the photo shoot with volunteers Chung and Datuk Susan Chang and her nurse, Sister Arlene who also joined in for some photos with her.
