IPOH: While much has been written about how a mother's love has no bounds, the same can be said for fathers as well.
Adi Saifullizam Abdul Sani, 40, has since last Friday made his car his home, sleeping in his vehicle at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital here just to be closer to his youngest son, who is being treated for a brain tumour.
Muhammad Afeef Mikhail, 8, was diagnosed with a tumour on Friday. He was subsequently warded and underwent an operation to have cell samples taken for testing.
Images of Adi's Proton Satria, with a tent attached to the rear in the hospital's parking lot, made its rounds on social media today.
Adi, a father of three, said while Muhammad Afeef is stable, he still needed to be hospitalised.
Adi's said despite his wife, Aminah Othman, staying with the boy in the pediatric ward, he needed to be close to his child.
He said by living in his car, he remains a short walk away from his son.
"My wife is in the ward with him. But I cannot bear to be too far apart. If anything develops, at least I'm already here.
"I had discussed this with my wife. We also took into account our finances and how much it would cost if I were to travel daily from our home in Trolak to the hospital," he said.
Adi, who works in a factory in Bidor, said he had to take a week of unpaid leave to be close to his son.
Their two other children, he said, are being cared for by relatives for now.
He said the family are used to camping activities, which made his experience at the moment less unusual.
"It's not that comfortable sleeping in a car but it's alright, as long as I can be nearby in case of anything.
"Some friends in the Ipoh area had offered me accommodation but I had to decline as they were around a half hour's drive away from the hospital," he said.
He said Muhammad Afeef initially experienced swelling between his eyes and spine and was later referred for a CT scan.
After the scan, doctors told Adi that his son needed to be warded as they had detected a tumour.
"We can just hope for the best to see if the tumour is aggressive or otherwise."