KUALA LUMPUR: Irfan Wafiy Idham Wazir,12, was a very active boy. He enjoyed running and swimming, and playing with his friends out in the field.
Now, his every movement is limited after he was confirmed to be suffering from myokymia, a type of ailment which causes several parts of the body to tremble.
Irfan, the fourth of five siblings, developed the Parkinson’s-like problem after he was believed to have been exposed to the pollutions from Sungai Kim Kim, last March.
His mother, Norlela Abu Hashim, 45, said Irfan was admitted to the Sultan Ismail Hospital (SIH) after he had breathing difficulties, believed from sniffing poisonous gases at school.
Unlike other friends, the pupil of Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Taman Bukit Dahlia, Pasir Gudang stayed in hospital for 10 days after his health deteriorated each passing day.
Norlela said the specialists at SIH had carried out numerous procedures, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to determine why his leg shook.
‘’His leg started to shake the second night he was in the hospital. When he was asleep, his heart was beating fast. The doctor slapped his face several times but he did not wake up, as if he was in a very deep sleep. The medical team then decided to summon the neurologist.
‘’The neurologist told him to walk but he could not do so. I had to hold him. One time, I took him to the toilet and he fell because I forgot that he could not walk normally,’’ Norlela told Bernama.
The housewife said the SIH specialists then referred Irfan’s case to Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) and examinations found that he was positive for myokymia after sniffing poisonous gases which caused his lungs to fail.
As he was forced to go to the hospital very often, his father Idham Wazir, 49, decided to quit his job to focus his full attention on his son.
According to Norlela, Irfan was set to sit for the Primary School Evaluation Test (UPSR) in September.
‘’I have stored all his toys and sports equipment. At times, Irfan Wafiy will punch his calf hoping that it will no
longer tremble. As a mother, I am sad at what had happened.
On March 7, 105 students and residents near Sungai Kim Kim fell sick and were admitted to the hospital. After preliminary investigations, the authorities identified the cause was due to chemicals dumped into the river.
On March 11, 2019, the second wave of poisonous gas reactions from the chemical in Singai Kim Kim started. A total of 106 new victims were warded with the number touching 1,000 several days later, including eight in the intensive care unit.
This was because the gases could be absorbed into a human body through the respiration channel and also the skin. Several poisonous gases were produced after the chemical reacted with water and air. These included acrylonitrile, xylene, methane and toluene gases which could cause headaches, nausea, unconsciousness and breathing difficulties. -- Bernama