NASAM

It was a rainy morning, a morning too comfortable to be laid under the blanket in bed, but we have more important and meaningful things ahead!– visiting NASAM. 5 of us gathered at Wangsa Maju LRT Station at 11-ish am, got down at the wrong house from Taman Jaya LRT station at 12.15pm but managed to find NASAM eventually but been told that Miss Shen, the PR representative of NASAM will only be free after 2pm. Therefore, we went to search for food!

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That way!... Hoping we are not lost!


On our way... to NASAM!
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NASAM (National Stroke Association of Malaysia) is a nonprofit and non government organisation founded by Miss Janet Yeo 13 years ago, who is also a stroke survivor but had fully recovered and currently leading a normal life. There are total of 7 NASAM centres throughout Malaysia. The main objective of NASAM is to help stroke patients to recover and regain confidence and at the mean time, to create awareness about this disease.

The programs which are available in the centre are physiotherapy which the volunteers will help the strokes to regain physical ability through exercising; occupational therapy which trains them to cope with their daily activities like dressing and eating; counseling session which helps them to regain their self confidence and language therapy, to help them in understanding and the ability to use words.
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We are here!... Finally at NASAM
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We were attended by the manager of NASAM, Miss Margaret and the PR of NASAM, Miss Shen during our briefing session. According to Miss Margaret, the youngest stroke victim is a 3 year old child who is currently attending the NASAM of JB branch. It is known as ‘juvenile stroke’ which is a very rare case that can happen to a child if they were born with weaknesses in brain vessels.

The centre is open 5 days a week except on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. There will be 3 physiotherapy sessions per day which will be grouped according to the 3 stages, beginner (people who just got stroke), intermediate (patient who is on the recovering stage) and advance (patients who are mostly recovered but still needs rehab). Volunteers are majority housewives and retirees who had received proper training from NASAM. Although NASAM is charging for physiotherapy session, yet it is not enough to cover their expenses. The total expenses for the 7 centres last year was RM1.5 million, where the income was only enough to cover the 20% of the operating cost.

After the meeting with Miss Margaret and Miss Shen, we went around and observed the intermediate stroke physiotherapy session. In order not to create any discomfort feeling of the patients and their family, we were advised not to take any pictures of them.

When I was gazing around, looking for ‘inspiration’ for the blog, I have decided to approach this uncle who was alone doing physiotherapy that occasionally gets aid from his maid. His name is Mr. Wong, a very nice man in his seventees and was generous enough to share his story and feelings with me. 4 months ago, Mr. Wong got a stroke on the left side of his body when he was driving to Nilai. He first realised that the left side of his body is getting weaker but he couldn’t help it. He felt that this unusual symptom was not a good sign but he was calm enough to drive himself to the nearest hospital. After 2 months of hospitalisation, he decided to join NASAM. Mr. Wong would turn up for the physiotherapy session almost every day and acupuncture session twice a week with the company of his wife and his maid. He thinks that the charges applied for physiotherapy session offered in NASAM is relatively cheaper than other hospitals. Now, he is on the process of recovery and is able to walk around the compound of his house. I sincerely hope that Mr. Wong will recover soon.

I was in so much emotion after visiting NASAM. A simple action that seems so simple for us might take many practices for them to excel, but they have never gave up on life, like there was a man I came across this afternoon, he was trying his best to pronounce his name. To me, they are like the warriors, battling for a better tomorrow. I have learned a life lesson, the world is always beautiful only if we learn how to cherish it. After today’s visit, I find no reason to whine about life anymore but appreciate what lies ahead for me, instead.





Road to recovery...Some of the equipments used for the patients' physiotherapy sessions.

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