Bus Story: A Sad Family

They have been in the same bus for quite some time. Every morning as I board  to work, there's this family who would sit at that same spot. The mother with child in her arms near the exit door and father on the other seat over the aisle. No it's not because they are sitting apart that makes it sad. It's the child in her arms.

The child seems to be a 4 or 5 year old boy. He was skinny to the bones. His face looked like that of a 70 year-old and all I could hear from him are groans. His head would fall back as his mother carried him under his neck an knees. His eyes were droopy and mouth opened. It was a sad scene. They would alight at the same spot everyday. His father brought a baby pram along. I presumed that his child is too weak too walk, hence the pram. His legs do look skinny. It's sad to say it but he looked paralysed.

How would the parents feel with such a child? Sad? Depressed? I feel sad for them as they seemed to be burdened. Their face showed no joy nor was there any smile at all. It was a very sad and depressing scene.

I know of some parents who are faced with abnormal children. No doubt it may have hit them hard when after 9 months, they discovered that their baby is not normal. Some have decided to abort, afraid that their child may be handicapped after birth. Is it right to do so? I don't know and I can't judge.

I know of one person though. During her pregnancy, she had an issue of blood. She went for a check and her doctor told her that her baby may be born handicapped - a mental handicap. It struck her. She was given a choice to abort or keep the baby. She cried and prayed. In the end, she decided that she would keep her child as she believed that her child is from God. After 9 months, the day came...

Everything seemed okay. The baby was a healthy baby boy. He grew up in no time. However, as he grew up, his speech was slurred and he could not communicate with the people around him. To others he seemed "weird", but to his mother, he was special. She took great pains to nurture him. She brought him for therapy, tried to place him in a normal school where he could mix with society. It was a tough period in her life. The result?

She's the first woman whom I've seen in such a situation who displayed an extraordinary kind of love for her son. Now, he's a healthy kid, running about and mixing with people of his age. Had the mother listened to the doctor's advice, she would have lost a beautiful child.

Another example would be my Friend's baby girl . His love and faith towards his daughter is truly inspiring. His daughter is autistic yet special to him. He brought her for therapy and looked at the brighter side of things. His daughter's name? Faith.

Coming back to the scene in the bus, I just simply felt pity for the family. The child they had seemed to be in a much worse condition than the one in the example above. I guess this is one of the factors Singaporeans are afraid to have children - the fear of having an emotional burden.

Therefore parents out there, you should be thankful for whatever God had given you because there are so many people or families out there who are very sad but they keep the fire burning that is to say, they keep standing not bothering about what people say.

Published by Nakkazi Madiinah