09/04/2026
“Dr, bila saya boleh sembuh?”
Soalan itu keluar perlahan… hampir berbisik.
Namun cukup kuat untuk membuat saya terdiam seketika.
Saya memandang wajah seorang remaja lelaki di hadapan saya.
Kurus, pucat… dan matanya penuh keletihan yang tidak sepatutnya ada pada usia 13 tahun.
Namanya Adam.
⸻
“Adam dah berapa kali masuk wad tahun ni?” saya bertanya lembut.
Ibunya menarik nafas panjang.
“Dr… hampir setiap minggu…”
Suara itu bergetar.
Adam hanya tunduk.
⸻
Kisah Adam bermula sejak dia masuk sekolah asrama.
Pada mulanya, semuanya nampak baik.
“Mak nak Adam jadi kuat… berdikari…” kata ibunya, sambil mengusap bahu Adam.
Namun, beberapa minggu kemudian…
“Mak… Adam susah nak nafas malam tadi…”
Satu serangan.
Kemudian satu lagi.
Dan akhirnya… hampir setiap malam.
⸻
Di wad, saya melihat Adam buat pertama kali.
Bunyi wheezing kuat setiap kali dia menarik nafas.
Dadanya turun naik laju.
Muka cemas… seperti sedang “berperang” untuk setiap hela nafas.
“Cepat, start neb sekarang,” saya arahkan jururawat.
Mesin neb mula berbunyi…
Asap halus keluar perlahan… masuk ke paru-parunya yang sempit.
Saya berdiri di hujung katil.
Sebagai doktor paru-paru… ini bukan kali pertama saya lihat keadaan begini.
Tapi setiap kali… rasa itu tetap sama.
Cemas. Berat. Dan penuh tanggungjawab.
⸻
“Dr… kenapa jadi macam ni?” tanya ayah Adam.
Saya duduk di sebelah mereka.
“Adam ada asthma yang agak teruk… dan ada trigger yang kuat di sekeliling dia.”
“Trigger?”
Saya mengangguk.
“Kawasan sekolah berhabuk… debu… mungkin juga faktor lain di rumah.”
Ibunya terdiam seketika.
Kemudian perlahan berkata…
“Bapak saya… selalu merokok dalam rumah…”
Saya pandang mereka.
Tidak menyalahkan.
Tapi mereka faham.
⸻
Hari demi hari, keadaan Adam tidak banyak berubah.
Neb setiap hari.
Masuk wad hampir setiap minggu.
Akhirnya…
“Mak… Adam tak larat…”
“Adam nak balik…”
Dan keputusan yang paling berat terpaksa dibuat.
Adam berhenti sekolah asrama.
⸻
Namun… cabaran belum berakhir.
Rawatan steroid tablet terpaksa diberikan.
Pada awalnya, serangan berkurang sedikit.
Tetapi…
“Dr…” Adam tunduk.
“Saya tak s**a muka saya sekarang…”
Saya melihat wajahnya.
Jerawat mula memenuhi p**i.
Badannya mula berisi.
Seorang remaja… yang sedang membesar…
yang mula sedar tentang penampilan diri…
itu bukan perkara kecil.
⸻
“Orang ejek saya gemuk…” katanya perlahan.
Ibunya terus memegang tangannya.
Saya menarik nafas dalam.
Sebagai doktor… kita rawat paru-paru.
Tapi sebagai manusia… kita juga perlu faham hati.
⸻
Saya berbincang dengan ibu bapanya.
“Kita ada satu pilihan lain… rawatan injection biologics.”
“Selamat ke, Dr?”
“Sesuai untuk kes Adam… tapi perlu komitmen. Setiap bulan… sekurang-kurangnya 6-9 bulan.”
Mereka berpandangan.
Kemudian ayahnya berkata…
“Kalau itu peluang untuk Adam… kami buat, Dr.”
⸻
Bulan pertama.
Adam datang dengan wajah yang masih sama… letih.
Bulan kedua.
“Dr… saya rasa… kurang sikit sesak…”
Bulan ketiga.
Adam masuk bilik saya dengan langkah yang berbeza.
Lebih ringan.
Lebih yakin.
⸻
“Dr!” dia tersenyum.
Saya hampir tak kenal budak yang sama.
“Dah lama tak masuk wad kan?” saya bertanya.
Dia menggeleng laju.
“Dah lama, Dr… dah boleh main bola sikit-sikit…”
Ibunya di sebelah… mengesat air mata.
⸻
Perlahan-lahan… steroid dihentikan.
Jerawat mula berkurang.
Berat badan kembali stabil.
Dan yang paling penting…
Adam mula dapat semula hidupnya.
⸻
Sebelum dia keluar dari bilik, dia berpaling.
“Dr…”
Saya memandangnya.
“Sekarang… saya dah sembuh ke?”
Saya tersenyum.
“Adam… asthma ni kita tak panggil ‘sembuh’ sepenuhnya…”
Wajahnya sedikit berubah.
Saya sambung perlahan…
“Tapi… kita boleh kawal. Sampai Adam boleh hidup macam orang lain. Aktif. Sihat. Bahagia.”
Dia terdiam.
Kemudian… tersenyum.
“Okay, Dr… saya nak jadi kuat.”
⸻
Hari itu… selepas Adam keluar…
Saya duduk seketika.
Terfikir…
Perjalanan menjadi doktor paru-paru bukan sekadar merawat penyakit.
Ia tentang…
Melihat seorang anak hampir putus harapan…
Kemudian bangkit semula.
Melihat ibu bapa yang hampir putus asa…
Kemudian kembali tersenyum.
Dan setiap kali pesakit bertanya…
“Dr, bila saya boleh sembuh?”
Kadang-kadang… jawapannya bukan sekadar tentang ubat.
Tapi tentang harapan.
Tentang usaha.
Tentang perjalanan… yang kita tempuhi bersama.
⸻
Pengajaran Cerita
1. Asthma bukan sekadar penyakit — ia boleh mengubah kehidupan seorang anak jika tidak dikawal dengan baik.
2. Kenal pasti trigger adalah kunci penting dalam rawatan (debu, asap rokok, persekitaran).
3. Rawatan moden seperti biologics boleh mengubah hidup pesakit yang asthma teruk.
4. Kesan sampingan ubat bukan sekadar fizikal — ia juga memberi kesan emosi, terutama pada remaja.
5. Sebagai ibu bapa, sokongan emosi adalah sama penting dengan rawatan perubatan.
6. Sebagai doktor, kita bukan hanya merawat paru-paru… tetapi juga jiwa pesakit.
⸻
Jika anda atau anak anda mengalami masalah batuk berpanjangan, sesak nafas, atau asthma yang tidak terkawal, jangan tunggu sehingga keadaan menjadi teruk.
👉 Click link for clinic appt :
https://encoremed.io/smcv /154
⸻
————————
“Doctor… when will I be cured?”
The question came out softly… almost a whisper.
But it was strong enough to make me pause.
I looked at the young boy sitting in front of me.
Thin, pale… with eyes carrying a kind of exhaustion no 13-year-old should have.
His name was Adam.
⸻
“Adam, how many times have you been admitted this year?” I asked gently.
His mother took a deep breath.
“Doctor… almost every week…”
Her voice trembled.
Adam kept his head down.
⸻
Adam’s story began when he entered boarding school.
At first, everything seemed fine.
“I want Adam to be strong… independent…” his mother said, gently rubbing his shoulder.
But a few weeks later…
“Mom… I couldn’t breathe well last night…”
One attack.
Then another.
And eventually… almost every night.
⸻
In the ward, I saw Adam for the first time.
Loud wheezing every time he inhaled.
His chest rising and falling rapidly.
A look of fear… as if he was “fighting” for every breath.
“Start nebulization now,” I instructed the nurse.
The nebulizer machine began to hum…
A fine mist slowly entered his struggling lungs.
I stood at the end of the bed.
As a respiratory physician… this wasn’t my first case like this.
But every time… the feeling is the same.
Anxiety. Weight. Responsibility.
⸻
“Doctor… why is this happening?” Adam’s father asked.
I sat beside them.
“Adam has quite severe asthma… and there are strong triggers around him.”
“Triggers?”
I nodded.
“The school environment… dust… possibly other factors at home.”
His mother fell silent for a moment.
Then slowly said…
“My father… smokes inside the house…”
I looked at them.
Without blaming.
But they understood.
⸻
Day by day, Adam’s condition didn’t improve much.
Daily nebulizers.
Weekly hospital admissions.
Finally…
“Mom… I’m tired…”
“I want to go home…”
And the hardest decision had to be made.
Adam left his boarding school.
⸻
But the challenges didn’t end there.
He had to start oral steroid treatment.
At first, his attacks reduced slightly.
But then…
“Doctor…” Adam lowered his gaze.
“I don’t like how I look now…”
I looked at his face.
Acne had started covering his cheeks.
His body was becoming heavier.
A teenager… growing up…
becoming aware of his appearance…
This was not something small.
⸻
“People make fun of me… say I’m fat…” he said softly.
His mother immediately held his hand.
I took a deep breath.
As doctors… we treat lungs.
But as humans… we must understand the heart.
⸻
I discussed with his parents.
“We have another option… biologic injection therapy.”
“Is it safe, Doctor?”
“It’s suitable for Adam’s case… but it requires commitment. Once a month… for at least 6-9 months.”
They looked at each other.
Then his father said…
“If that’s a chance for Adam… we’ll do it, Doctor.”
⸻
First month.
Adam came in looking the same… tired.
Second month.
“Doctor… I feel… a bit less breathless…”
Third month.
Adam walked into my room… differently.
Lighter.
More confident.
⸻
“Doctor!” he smiled.
I almost didn’t recognize him.
“Long time no admission, right?” I asked.
He shook his head quickly.
“No more, Doctor… I can even play football a little…”
His mother beside him… quietly wiped her tears.
⸻
Slowly… the steroids were stopped.
His acne began to fade.
His weight stabilized.
And most importantly…
Adam started to get his life back.
⸻
Before leaving the room, he turned back.
“Doctor…”
I looked at him.
“Now… am I cured?”
I smiled.
“Adam… asthma isn’t something we call ‘completely cured’…”
His expression changed slightly.
I continued gently…
“But… we can control it. Until you can live like everyone else. Active. Healthy. Happy.”
He paused.
Then… smiled.
“Okay, Doctor… I want to be strong.”
⸻
That day… after Adam left…
I sat quietly for a while.
Thinking…
The journey of becoming a respiratory physician is not just about treating disease.
It is about…
Seeing a child almost lose hope…
Then rise again.
Seeing parents almost give up…
Then smile again.
And every time a patient asks…
“Doctor, when will I be cured?”
Sometimes… the answer is not just about medication.
It is about hope.
Effort.
And the journey… we walk together.
⸻
Lessons from the Story
1. Asthma is not just a disease — it can deeply affect a child’s life if not well controlled.
2. Identifying triggers is crucial (dust, smoke, environment).
3. Modern treatments like biologics can be life-changing for severe asthma patients.
4. Medication side effects are not just physical — they impact emotional well-being, especially in teenagers.
5. Parental emotional support is just as important as medical treatment.
6. As doctors, we don’t just treat lungs… we also care for the patient’s soul.
⸻
If you or your child are experiencing chronic cough, breathlessness, or uncontrolled asthma, don’t wait until it becomes severe.
👉 Click link for clinic appointment:
https://encoremed.io/smcv /154
⸻
