KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — A man who was in a coma for seven months became an inspiration for a lawyer who met him by accident at a petrol station in Melaka.
Wong Fook Meng shared his encounter with a petrol station attendant Ahmad Ridhwan Mohamed on his Facebook where he praised the 23-year-old for being upbeat despite being involved in a serious accident in 2015 that took him four years to recover.“He (Ridhwan) said his doctor advised him to have a positive mindset as that will help in the recovery process.”
“He is very determined to recover. I told him he is an inspiration to me,” he wrote in the Monday post that had since received over 6,000 reactions and shared over 1,000 times.
“What is your setback today? Keep being positive and keep pressing on! I got my car, and soul, refueled at Petronas this morning,” he added.
Speaking to Malay Mail, Ridhwan said he did not expect a simple conversation with Wong would create so much buzz.
“He asked for a selfie with me but I did not expect him to post it on Facebook,” he said.
Ridhwan said he was in coma from April 2015 to October 2015 following an accident at Bukit Cina, Melaka.
After he was discharged from hospital, he took a further four years to recover at home before he started to apply for jobs.
“My first job was at Aeon Bandaraya Melaka last year where I worked as a customer service assistant but I left three months later as I felt I do not fit in the job.”
“I later applied to be a petrol attendant at Petronas Ayer Keroh 2 and have been working there for the past week.”
Saying he was about 80 per cent recovered from the accident, Ridhwan said he still suffers from imbalance.
“Now when I get dressed, I need to sit down,” he said.
Asked on his outlook in life, Ridhwan said he hopes to be able to return to sports.
“Before my accident, I was an athlete. Sports is everything to me. I hope to be able to run and do triple jump soon.”
