KOTA KINABALU: A cancer survivor was determined to walk on stage to receive her graduation scroll here on Sunday – even if she had to do it on crutches and with a splint cast on her leg.
So when Rohany Gabi slowly took to the stage at the 19th Universiti Sabah Malaysia (UMS) convocation, the auditorium, filled with her fellow graduates and academicians, burst into applause and cheers.
The 25-year-old was proud to receive her scroll from vice-chancellor Datuk Prof Dr D Kamaruddin D Mudin for graduating with honours in Bachelor of Social Science (History).
The youngest of six siblings, Rohany, who hails from the poor, remote village of Kampung Samalang in Keningau began her battle with cancer when she was just 12 years old.
She was diagnosed with bone cancer and had to have one of her thighbones (femur) removed, leaving her disabled.
This was followed by a battery of treatments, including chemotherapy – but three years later, doctors detected cancer cells in her lungs. Rohany refused to be defeated – she battled on through the agony and fear, and in 2013, she was declared cancer-free.
However, amidst her battle, when she was 14 years old, she lost one of her pillars of support – her father, Gabi Dakim, who was killed in an accident.
Not long after losing her father, her brother, who was on his way to collect his SPM results, was killed in a traffic accident – another devastating blow.
Instead of breaking her spirit, the tragedies that struck Rohany simply spurred her on, and she was determined to achieve success, attend university and graduate, in honour of her late father and brother.
“The obstacles I’ve gone through became my inspiration to keep focusing on completing my studies, although there were times I couldn’t sit for exams due to my health condition.
“(But I wanted) to prove to others that ailments are not barriers to success,” Rohany told reporters at the event.
She said that throughout her studies at UMS, she often felt left out by her peers – but she received tremendous support from her family, supervisors and lecturers to keep going.
Rohany, whose ambition is to be a motivator, extended her gratitude to UMS for providing financial aid of RM300 per month and transportation services to help her move around the varsity.
Although she is still struggling with the side effects of her latest cancer surgical treatment in September last year, Rohany is all set to begin her career and start a new chapter in her life.
A total of 5,313 students are graduating as part of UMS’s three-day convocation.
Rohany was among 1,876 students who received their scrolls during Sunday’s ceremony.
Translated from Harian Metro