Uphill battle: Syafiq receiving treatment after contracting tuberculosis from an unknown source. He has since been discharged but is still very weak.
PETALING JAYA: It is always harder when it hits close to home. This was the case for National Association of Human Resources Malaysia president Zarina Ismail, who witnessed her 20-year-old son battling tuberculosis (TB) recently.
“It is ironic that we recently spoke about the new Fomema health screening ruling for foreign workers and why it is important for public safety.
“I never expected that only a few days later, I would be calling to inform you that my own son has TB,” the emotionally distraught mother said in a telephone call from Hospital Putrajaya.
She said the doctor initially thought her son, Muhammad Syafiq, had a tumour growing on the lymph node at the right side of his neck, causing a large swelling filled with pus.
However, tissue tests confirmed it was TB.
“I thought TB only affected the lungs and not other parts of the body,” she said.
Muhammad Syafiq was deemed a latent carrier who contracted the disease from an “unknown source” more than a year ago before it flared up recently.
Zarina said her son’s future seems uncertain at the moment, but for now, the focus would be on his recovery.
“My son is doing his diploma in electrical technology at a college in Alor Gajah, Melaka and is supposed to sit for his final presentation and examinations later this month. But he is still very weak and has lost weight.
“I am hoping he will be able to recover and regain his strength in time for his presentation,” she said, adding that Muhammad Syafiq has been discharged.
He will have to take his TB medication daily over the next six to nine months without missing a single dose if he is to fully recover, Zarina said.
The hospital authorities in Melaka are expected to screen students at her son’s college soon as a precautionary measure.
