Thirty and Wasted

This is a true story. 

This is a story of a boy. He is 30 years old, and paralyzed. A freak accident 6 years ago took away not only his limbs and his freedom, but also his dreams and his life. A boy that has plenty of future, ended up lying on bed more than 20 hours a day.

We pass urine without even break a sweat. He needs to self catheterized. "Or else I will have retained urine." He said. Passing motion is a automatic response. Moving around means a lot of work transferring himself to wheelchair and back, involving many helps and energy-consuming. He and caretakers resorted to the simple way out, that is not moving at all. He has a loving wife, staying beside him, answering to whatever his needs are and tend all his errands. Whenever he is admitted, she will stay beside him, like a shadow.

But he is not always a good boy, to start with. He has issues. He can't get over the fact that his life has changed. He did drugs. And he had complications from it. The heart fails as we witnessed that he has worsening oedema all over his body. He is breathless at rest. He is tired all the time. And he makes his wife suffers. The newly gained weight caused him more disability. As a result, there were multiple pressure sores over the buttock and the prominence of the hips. And it sure smells bad too.

With good medications and nursing care, we bring him out of the disaster.  His failure symptoms resolving. His infections under control. Proper rehabilitation goes a long way to restore his function and self esteem. Last I saw him, there is a shine in his eyes that were absent previously. The smile that he and his wife gave us tells us a lot.

This is not only Malaysian dilemma, I believe it is rampant all over the world. Illicit drug is a very serious problem, both in term of healthcare burden and social aspects. Most of the drugsters are of the young and so call productive group. The country lose out the brilliant assets when these people getting high in some dark alleys. They are prone for blood-borne illness, as well as creating sense of insecurities in the neighbourhood. Many ended up in correctional facilities or prison, some even to the hang rope. 

I don't despise these people. I felt sorry for them. I will try to help them, if it is within my ability. I don't deny that many treat them as a nuisance, a self-inflicted illness, 'high risk' for infection transmission case, and difficult vascular access case. But I sincerely hope it will change. It start from within your. Please...