Rare illness compounds woman’s misery

A Komala suffers not only a rare condition but is also poverty stricken.

KUALA LUMPUR: The proverb ‘health is wealth’ is meaningless to 54-year-old A Komala.

The mother of three who is living in squalor in a longhouse settlement in Jinjang with her husband has been hit by a rare disease – she looses iron from her bones, causing them to be fragile.

She had been suffering from this ailment for the past five years but it has become worse now.

Her grown up children – aged between 23 and 35, with two of them married and living away– are of no help to her. Her youngest son only returns home to sleep.

“The doctor told me it is a rare medical condition where something like a bacteria eats into my bones causing my body to be painful. All the doctors could do is to replace the iron lost from my bones to ensure they don’t break,” Komala told FMT when met recently.

She explained that her whole body aches especially at night and on rainy days. Lately she is finding it hard to walk due to her fragile knees.

“Rotten fruit is what people describe if they were to touch any part of my body, and my bones are equivalent to those who are aged 90 and above,” she said.

Komala added that she is losing iron from her bones for some unknown reasons and currently she takes whole lots of medicines for her condition.

“I have to watch my steps especially during rainy days as I would be paralyzed if I fall anywhere,” she said while pointing at the slippery floor of her house which was wet due to leaks in the roof.

Speaking further on her medical condition, she said that fluids were removed from her knees often and she visits the Kuala Lumpur Hospital up to five times per month. Almost on all visits she is admitted.

“I spend more time in the hospital than my home,” she laughed while relating her ordeal.

She first visited the government hospital near her house but has since been referred to the KLH.

Komala gets little support from her children and her husband underwent a major cardiac bypass few months ago, thus is unable to care for her.

Often their meals are provided by the neighbours. Due to her illness and medicines, she gets weak easily, far more when proper meals are hard to come.

“Forget about medical procedures, I would be rather happy if I have proper meals everyday,” she said in tears.

Though medicines are free, she still needs to fork out RM25 as cab fare for each visit to the hospital. Taking the bus is difficult due to her fragile condition.