MUM FULFILS CANCER BOY'S DYING WISH *All he wanted was to die at home
*All she needed was help in pulling it off
*Thanks to hospital's care service, they get their wish
ALL he wanted was to die at home.
And 7-year-old Adam Dulfo Kamaruddin, who was suffering from leukaemia, got his wish in January.
With his parents at his bedside, he was finally relieved of the pain he bore for nearly four years.
In his last painful moments, the little boy's mother cried out to him to look out for the angels. And he saw them.
'Mama, I see the angels.'
Those were his last words to her before he slipped away.
And although her son didn't recover from his third relapse, Adam's mother, Madam Mariam Dulfo, takes comfort in this one thing.
She was able to grant her youngest son his one last wish.
When Adam's leukaemia returned for the final time in September last year, he did not want to fight it anymore.
His first words to his mother on hearing the devastating news: No more chemotherapy, mum.
He knew that without the treatment he would die.
Madam Dulfo, a housewife, said: 'By then Adam had gone through so much chemotherapy that he just could not stand the idea of another round.
'He wanted to live normally for a while. Normal life was something he did not have since he was diagnosed in May 2003.'
MOTHER-AND-SON PACT
So mother and son made a pact. She would try and keep him as comfortable as possible and he would die at home.
She said: 'He was so scared of going to the hospital. Every time he got sick, he would tell me, 'mummy, I don't want to go to the hospital'.
'The hospital held so many horrible memories for him.'
The only reason she was able to make that pact with her son with any confidence was a new service at KKWomen's and Children's Hospital (KKH). (See report on facing page).
Called the paediatric palliative care service, it provides support for parents of terminally-ill children so that the children can spend whatever little time they have left at home.
Adam was referred to the service in October last year.
Said Madam Dulfo of Ms Noor Aisah Bee, a nurse clinician at the paediatric palliative care service: 'She held my hand and walked me through my darkest hours.
Picture by: Dominic Ying
'She held me and we cried together. She calmed my fears.
'I could call her whenever I had doubts and needed advice. She also came to our house to help Adam when we needed it.'
For all the help she received from the service, including house calls, she did not have to pay a cent.
Madam Dulfo, who has two other sons aged 12 and 10, said: 'After we found out about Adam's condition and accepted that he was dying, I quickly asked the doctor whether he could go on a trip.
'The doctor said he would help to keep Adam's blood count up so that he could enjoy this trip of a lifetime.'
The trip to Hong Kong Disneyland was arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organisation which works to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.
The five-day trip at the end of September was perfect.
And when he got back, the care service kept his hospital visits to a minimum.
He spent his days at home watching TV and waiting for his father, Mr Kamaruddin Mohd Tahir, 46, a hotel frontdesk co-ordinator, to come home from work so they could be together.
SCHOOL
Adam also prepared himself for Primary 1, something he missed out on the year before as he was undergoing chemotherapy.
But there were times when his condition deteriorated and he needed medical attention.
Adam pulled through that episode.
In January this year, just weeks before he died, he finally went to school. He attended Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School - for all of two days.
'And he enjoyed every minute of it. I was so very proud of my son who enjoyed school when others grumbled,' said Madam Dulfo.
But that was all the time he had to enjoy school.
After that, his condition worsened. His pain became worse and he spent much of his time sleeping.
The end was near.
The palliative care team tried to prepare the family for the worst.
'But you never know when that time would be,' said Madam Dulfo.
In the early hours of 20 Jan, Adam woke up. By then, his mother had started a vigil but she still did not know he would be gone so soon.
'By midnight, his body was very cold. When he woke up, he said he could not breathe. I gave him oxygen,' said Madam Dulfo.
At 3.30am, he asked for his father.
'I woke my husband up and asked him to be with his son,' she said.
At 4am, Adam was crying.
'He was in so much pain. I called Aisah and I kept pressing the morphine pump,' said Madam Dulfo.
Then he said: 'Papa, I love you.'
He was holding both his parents' hands, one on each side.
'I told him to look for the angels,' said Madam Dulfo.
And that was when he shouted: 'Mama, I see angels, angels, angels.'
Madam Dulfo said: 'It was 4.25am. He was gone. He had died at home, just as he wanted.'
taken at :
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...30015,00.html? 
His last words... Mama, I see the ANGELS 
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