Sulthan Azzairy is a child who still has his whole life ahead of him. Despite this, he lies lethargicly in bed needing the use of various respiratory aids. His body mostly consists of a thin wrapper of skin. The rigid curves of his bones are quite evident. His head is unusually wide and malformed. A bystander might think that he was a child stricken with acute cancer or something similar, but that is not the cause of this boy's suffering. He suffers from a disease known as hydrocephalus. It's a condition in which fluid accumulates in the brain causing an enlarged head and, occasionally, brain damage.
Unlike most children his age, Sulthan Az-Zairi Ikhsan requires extra special daily care. His parents have to monitor his nutritional intake, give him life support drugs, change his diapers, and take care of a wide variety of other unusual needs. These special needs don't just cost time though, they are very expensive for the struggling parents.
The poor boy's mother is a simple teacher with a very low salary. She has lately been forced to make a variety of cakes and circulate them in different kiosks and coffee shops in order to get a little extra income. His father is a farmer who never knows how much income he's going to make due to the uncertainty of the harvest period. The two of them together do not provide adequate funds to cover the costs of the boy's care.
Other teenagers Sulthan's age spend their days laughing, playing, and spending time with their peers. Unfortunately this young boy spends his time surrounded by unimaginable pain. His once beautiful smile grows stiff and eventually fades into nothingness. He constantly suffers from convulsions that shock him with discomfort. Sometimes just showing a little bit of affection by embracing him is able to reduce these convulsions. It's enough to make you want to shed a tear. No matter what time it is, day or night, his parents must stand by taking turns so that they can provide whatever help the young person needs. His 14 years have been a lifetime of suffering.
Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus is Hydrocephalus is a condition in which there is an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the brain. This typically causes increased pressure inside the skull. Older people may have headaches, double vision, poor balance, urinary incontinence, personality changes, or mental impairment. In babies there may be a rapid increase in head size.Other symptoms may include vomiting, sleepiness, seizures, and downward pointing of the eyes. wikipedia
I'm certainly no expert when it comes to health issues. If you'd like to read more please check out this website.
Sulthan and Steemit
Sulthan is the nephew of my best friend @hasanpoen. We often get together to talk about things. He hasn't been around these past few weeks and I suspect that he's been busy taking care of some personal things. When I tried to find out why he's not available to even drink a simple cup of coffee with me he replied that he's been spending a lot of time in the hospital.
"Who is sick?" I asked him.
He replied that it was his nephew. When I asked what was wrong with the boy he showed me several different photos from a smartphone. I couldn't help but feel pity for Sulthan.
Last week Sulthan was rushed to the hospital due to a drastically high temperature. His parents had to take an ambulance from the local community health center. The doctors had to insert various tubes inside the poor boy's body. They connected him to an oxygen tank so that he could breathe properly. I was only able to look at the poor thing for about 2 minutes before I started crying. I could clearly see how much Sulthan's parents love him. I tried to look strong so that I didn't add to the pain felt by my friend and his family. Finally, I asked permission to go home and gather with some other steemians that I knew. I know of some newcomers who want to join. They need my help.
On Saturday @hasanpoen told me that he needed to talk seriously with me and that he would call me later that night. When he finally did contact me he told me that Sulthan was now gone. I never really got to know him. I felt miserable to hear the news. After 12 years of being shackled to this disease with no sign of healing his only recourse was to just die. Knowing that his family was grieving affected my mind greatly. I wish I could have done something for him.
Although Sulthan is gone, the deep sorrow that his family feels still remains. In addition to dealing with this emotional turmoil the family is also quite deeply in debt due to the numerous hospital visits that Sulthan required.
Fellow steemians may donate to Sulthan's family if they so choose.
I promise to give all the proceeds of this post to Sulthan's family.
Hope
I cannot begin to express how much pain I saw in this boy's mother's eyes. Therefore, I'm going to try to knock on the door of the hearts of all my fellow Steemians. Will you help ease the burden just a little bit? I am convinced that as human beings all of us, in the depths of our hearts, have a small touch of empathy for people in this situation. I call on your humanity. Imagine if a similar misfortune were to strike one of us. What if it had happened to your child, or your brother or sister? Many times we focus on our own lives even though there are others that are worse off than we are. Perhaps through this young child God is testing us all. He knocks on the door of our conscience.
A few days ago I read a couple of posts by #ophumangels and @lyndsaybowes. I know there are many angels among us. There are definitely those out there who are willing to provide assistance to those who need it. I personally feel that by helping others you bring yourself good luck.
I doubt this will be able to get the attention of @canadian-coconut on #familyprotection. I'm not even sure if this article qualifies to be curated by that group. I'm only acting as a liaison between my fellow students and Sulthan. I hope the #Aceh Steemians at the very least will be able to donate. I'm hoping we can also get some other Steemit communities involved.
