From the heart and not for fame

Sincerity wins trust of stroke patient

JOHOR BARU: A woman’s act of kindness in feeding a stranger at Hospital Sultanah Aminah here has not only moved the man to tears but also warmed the hearts of Malaysians.

C. Anjala Devi, 63, was at the hospital visiting her nephew on Thursday evening when she noticed the patient in the next bed struggling to eat his dinner.

Despite nurses’ attempts to assist him and urging him to eat, the man was reluctant to accept help.

Recounting the incident, Anjala Devi’s niece K. Jamunahwathy, 28, said they learnt the man is a stroke patient, which made it difficult for him to speak and move.

She said her brother was admitted for heart surgery about a week ago and the man was hospitalised on Thursday.

“We noticed that he did not have any visitors nor did he have a mobile phone with him so my aunt offered to feed him. At first he declined her help, as he was embarrassed and did not want to trouble us.

“But my aunt would not take no for an answer and insisted on spoon-feeding him. She told him, ‘Adik, you will not be able to take your medicine otherwise’,” Jamunahwathy, who works as an audio-visual engineer, said in an interview.

Caring for a stranger: Anjala Devi feeding the stroke patient at Hospital Sultanah Aminah.

The man eventually agreed to be fed and in a spontaneous move, Jamunahwathy whipped out her mobile phone to record the moment and later posted it on social media.

The 26-second video clip captured the man wiping away his tears with a tissue paper as Anjala Devi fed him spoonfuls of food.

The video quickly made the rounds on various social media platforms, drawing praise from Malaysians for the woman’s compassion, with many others also sharing their own experiences of receiving help from strangers.

Jamunahwathy said she uploaded the video with the intention of spreading love, while things like differences in race and religion were far from her mind.

“Judging by the comments on my video, we can see how warm and kind Malaysians are towards each other.

“This is what we should always practise because we would not know what others are going through. A small gesture can make their day at least a little better,” she said.

Jamunahwathy added that her aunt continued to feed “adik” during subsequent visits, even bringing him home-cooked food prepared by her mother.

“My aunt has always been a caring woman and she will not hesitate to visit family and friends who are unwell or hospitalised.

“We told my aunt about her video going viral and she got a bit nervous as she did it from her heart and not for fame,” she said.