The Story of Karim Abdullah

Salam to fellow CS1981!

I’m writing this to share a story about a friend of ours, Karim Abdullah. Karim is currently experiencing a life threatening physical condition which can get worse in time. He is in dire need of our help in getting him back to normal.

Late last year (2008), Karim experienced symptoms of heart problem, hypertension, gastritis and gout. The good doctor subscripted him medication suitable for the symptoms, but his condition got worse. Neither the doctor nor he had suspected that the tribulation was caused by something else. During last Ramadhan, he had a series of similar attacks and was admitted to Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Several tests were conducted but failed to pinpoint the cause. Finally, an ultrasound on his abdomen revealed that his kidneys had already shrunk. Knowing the truth is one thing, but knowing it too late is another. Now, both his kidneys have failed and he has to go for haemodialysis three times a week to stay alive.

Karim, as I know him, has always been pleasant, jovial, active, forward looking and diligent. For several months after the incident, he was in a depressed state. His close kin had brought the idea of kidney transplantation, but he adamantly rejected it. He was unable to work and stayed at home most of the time.
Now he has overcome the sorrow and ready to go for tomorrow. Even though he is not as physically fit as before, he is still capable of putting his God given knowledge, skills and experiences into good use. Lately, he has had a change of heart. He has agreed to undergo a transplant and is planning to do so early 2010. This is definitely encouraging. Although he may have some idea of getting the funding for the procedures and logistics, but that would still be far from sufficient.

So, here we are, Hasbi, Zaidan, Mohidin (Stats1981) and myself, are taking advantage of this platform to plead to you, the CS1981ers and those who know Karim, to help lessen our dear friend’s difficulty by chipping in whatever that we feel we can. Although it’s a half year from now, the preparation must be done right now. We are aware that there are just a handful of us on this blog at this very moment, but we are positive that many will rapidly join in through our networking. We have discussed with Karim himself and suggested him or his wife, Masura, to open a bank account specifically for this purpose.

We will be posting the account number as soon as we get it from Karim. Meanwhile, we would appreciate if you could spread the news to fellow friends.

Thank you and the best of regards to you all,
Bakar