KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 — Malaysian construction engineer Khaidir Abu Jalil, 34, was recently dubbed the “loneliest man” at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney after six months went by without him receiving a single visitor.
According to Australia’s The Age newspaper, Khaidir suffers from a rare autoimmune disease with a 50 per cent survival rate.
He does not know anyone in Australia — his family is in Malaysia — nor does he own a phone or have internet access.
“We were struck that he’s only 34, the prognosis was very poor, and being so sick, and in intensive care, there was not one visitor who could be with him,” Dr Laila Girgis, head of rheumatology at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Public Hospital, was quoted as saying.
Since February, Khaidir’s body has shrunk to 42 kilos, more than half his weight a few months earlier. His temperature spikes past 40 degrees Celsius daily.
He is reported to have necrotising skin lesions on his hands and elbows, while his lungs have been rapidly deteriorating. He was even resuscitated in the intensive care unit more than once.
He is expected to be discharged in time for Christmas this week.
However, he has only two weeks' accommodation lined up at a homeless shelter, Tierney House, operated by St Vincent's in Darlinghurst.
After that, things look bleak for Khaidir.
In the midst of a pandemic, which means his family and friends can’t travel to be with him, Khaidir has already lost his job as a construction engineer in Melbourne, his visa status is uncertain, and he is now homeless after his lease ended on an apartment in Victoria.
Dr Girgis and her team diagnosed Khaidir with dermatomyositis. He suffers from a variant that rapidly scars his lungs, reducing his survival to 50 per cent over six months.
However, with the care of the hospital staff members, he is recovering.
Describing himself as a “quiet, reserved person”, Khaidir has been assuring the medical workers that he is a “fighter”.
While he does not have visitors, he has friends inside the hospital. Staff members will bring him sweet treats, and a former patient even arranged to take him out for a barbecue.
In response to his plight, two Malaysians have launched a donation drive for Khaidir.
Isaac Wong and Chiu Lau organised the fundraiser on crowdfunding website GoFundMe, hours after a Sydney newspaper highlighted his plight.
“I hope you are having a good break,” read the opening line on the description of the campaign.
“We have organised this gofundme for Khaidir Abu Jalil after reading about his story on (The) Sydney Morning Herald. Khaidir has an autoimmune disease that has severely impacted his health and has been in treatment for some time,” the campaign organisers said on the GoFundMe page for Khaidir.
Malay Mail has reached out to both Wisma Putra and the Consulate of Malaysia in Sydney for comment.
