SUNGAI PETANI: Many may look at a train ride as just another mode of transportation, but for bedridden girl Aziana Shaari, it is her lifetime dream.
This was the reason why she could not hold back her tears when Aziana was taken on a special commuter train ride from Sungai Petani to Butterworth today, courtesy of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB).
"Riding on a train is my childhood dream. All this while, I could only watch the trains passing by my village.
"This my first train ride, I am really thrilled," said the 17-year-old youngest child of six from Kampung Bakar Bata, in Pinang Tunggal here.
Two Red Crescent ambulance paramedics accompanied Aziana during the train ride as the girl has multiple health complications.
It was a touching scene when the train made a short stop near her village, where her relatives and neighbours gathered to greet Aziana from outside the railway track's fencing.
Her mother, Fatimah Hashim, 50, expressed her appreciation to KTMB for fulfilling Aziana's dream, who has been bedridden for the last eight years.
"I don't know how to describe how happy she was. Aziana was really excited about today...her dream is fulfilled, thank you KTMB," Fatimah told reporters.
The teenager lost her mobility eight years ago when a concrete wall which was under construction at her relative's house collapsed and fell on Aziana, who was playing nearby behind her home.
The concrete wall had crushed her spine, leaving Aziana completely paralysed from the waist down.
Her health condition has since deteriorated with complications to her lungs and kidneys, other than being hearing impaired.
KTMB chairman Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir said the company decided to fulfil Aziana's dream after learning about her lifetime wish to ride on a train.
"We are delighted to fulfil Aziana's wish. We hope this will bring happy memory to her," he told reporters before joining Aziana for the ride.
Present was KTMB chief executive officer Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin. Musa had also presented milk formula and diapers to Aziana prior to the ride.
He also thanked the Red Crescent for providing the two paramedics and a stretcher to facilitate the programme today.