KLANG: In spite of the trials and tribulations she has endured, Noramira Ruby Asmari is a happy woman who loves basking in the sun while enjoying the sounds of nature every morning.
“I like spending my mornings at parks where I enjoy looking at the plants and flowers as well as watching the people there,” said the 28-year-old haltingly when met recently.
She then flashed a radiant smile, as if the accident which had robbed her of so many things, including the ability to fully care for herself, was a distant memory.
But Noramira remembers the day clearly although it happened over a decade ago.
“When I was 15, I was riding a motorbike with a friend and my sister when a car hit us and sped off.”
“My sister and friend managed to jump off but I crashed into a monsoon drain,” said Noramira, who lives with her family in Kampung Jawa, near here.
Her father Ruby Asmari Anuar, 49, said his family experienced the worst nightmare of their lives when Noramira met with the accident.
“A piece of her skull had come off and the brain was visible. She was in a coma for nine months and by the time she came around, her muscles had also shrunk,” said Ruby Asmari, who quit his factory job to care for his daughter.
Noramira also suffered fractures on one of her legs and an arm.
He added that because Noramira was big-boned and tall, his wife Norzalilah Anuar, also 49, was unable to manage caring for their daughter alone.
According to the father-of-three, Noramira, his eldest child, underwent a cranioplasty and has a “plastic” skull now.
Generally, polymethyl methacrylate, a type of acrylic resin, or titanium, are among the substitutes used to repair a shattered skull during cranioplasty.
“She was not able to speak or move much for over a year after coming out of the coma.
“But my daughter, being the determined girl that she is, fought her way through until she was able to speak, and also walk with the help of a brace and walking stick,” said Ruby Asmari.
Besides going for physiotherapy and rehabilitation, Noramira also attended a special school from the age of 17 to 19, he said.
Currently, both Ruby Asmari and his wife do not leave their daughter alone at home as they fear for her safety.
“We worry that someone may come into the house and violate her.
“Some years ago, there were two incidents where someone tried to break into the house through the back door when we were away.
“Luckily, Noramira had the presence of mind to get out of the house and wait there until we got home,” the father recalled.
Ruby Asmari said that his main concern was his daughter’s future when he and Norzalilah, a factory worker, are no longer around for her.
For now, Noramira receives RM300 monthly from the Welfare Department, an amount her father said is insufficient to meet her needs.
