2nd City Stop for Maximo in Malaysia – Penang, 25 – 26 Oct 2013

If you think Maximo will stop and rest after the first stop in Kota Kinabalu, we are telling you that NO, Maximo is continuing his journey reaching out to children’s heart in Malaysia.

During the recent weekend, Maximo was travelling to Penang situated in Northern Region of Malaysia, approximately 4.5 hours by road from Kuala Lumpur. Again, He was heavy. We have arranged to ship 4 boxes few days before we drove to Penang.

This time in Penang, we have 3 sessions:

·         25 Oct noon in Hospital Penang Peadiatric Ward;

·         25 Oct evening in Shu Children Bookshop;

·         26 Oct morning in Hospital Seberang Jaya Paediatric Ward

Here in this entry, I am writing about the first session in Penang - 25 Oct at Hospital Penang. 

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Hospital Penang Pediatric Ward, 25 Oct 2013

When we got to the paediatric ward, we knew we were lucky being welcomed by the warm white-uniform angels. The nurses were very proactive and supportive in helping us get a room next to the walk way of the ward, and together we turned the place into a kids room.

We started with getting the floor vacuumed, tidy up the room, temporary removing stuffs from the room to make space, putting up Maximo banners… and finally – covering the floor with bed sheets serving as mat for our little champions.

Yee Jia coordinated the sessions in Penang, and this little lady is very capable, cute and yes, tough too!

Yee Jia, tough lady :-) 

YJ and QN coordinating goodie bags

We have home-made cup cakes too! 

PT and Fan cleaning fruits - will go into goodie bag for kids

All our kids of the day are from oncology ward – so we see a mixture – some of them are stable, some are healthier compared to their friends; some walk to the rooms without needing any help while some are on wheelchair, some are coming with their IV treatment drips. Some kids are very young, and some are a little older; some are Malay, some are Chinese and some are Indians.

Regardless who they are, how their health condition is, what their age is – on that day, every child is coming to the Maximo session with hope. We from MAX and Max Family and volunteers team had a common understanding - we are very aware that we are treating every child as normal person, we are treating every child with respect, with dignity. No discrimination just because they are being diagnosed as patient.

Welcome! 

I remember this vividly – at about 2.30pm, I went out from the room to check with the key physician, Dr Yeoh if we can start the session. Dr Yeoh told me she would want to give one last try to persuade a boy to come in. A boy who just gets his leg amputated. He refused to talk to anyone, he closed himself up, and the treating physician thinks that he started showing some symptoms of depression. I told Dr Yeoh we will wait till he come, if he willing to.

And yes, he came. A skinny boy. He was quiet. I greeted him but no response. I smiled at him, and said - “Welcome, nice meeting you.” His chose a spot which was at the last row of the room. 

Puva, a kindergarten teacher was the storyteller of the session. We showed the pictures of Maximo and the Big C story on the big screen so everyone was able to look at the illustration. The colourful illustration by Fan successfully caught attention of kids, as well as parents.

This time, after the story, Queen (supporter from Shu Chidren Bookshop in Penang) has helped us lead the art activities – making Maximo Crown!

Each kid was given the opportunity to make their own Maximo Crown, with help from mom/dad. Kids were excited and busy decorated their crown with crayons and stickers. It was a fun moment for everyone including the adults.

Now, everyone is the Maximo.

The little sparrow who is small, but brave, has get into the little one’s heart. Now, everyone is the Maximo when they put the Maximo Crown on their head, proudly take photo with it. Now, everyone feel the Maximo is with them when each of them receives the copy of Maximo in their hand, and I am sure they have also received the Maximo in their hearts.

I see the changes in the kids in these 2 hours. I see the changes in their facial expression from quiet to happy to shiny in their eyes. I see the proud parents. I see the elements of respect taking place in the room. I see that each child is given an opportunity to take control – they decorated their Crown with their favourite colours, they own their copy of Maximo. I see the bonding between a kid and his/her parent during that 2 hours. I see the relationship of an individual with another individual built.

Remember the young skinny boy that I mentioned earlier? When he was about to leave from the room back to his ward, he smiled at me, and said “Terima kasih, Kak”. It means “Thank you, Sister”. He held the copy of Maximo in his hands when we had that simple conversation. At that moment, I knew that he has gained strength from this little tiny sparrow, which was once not daring to fly…

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Volunteers, Contributors and HealthCare Team – Who have helped us in making the sessions successful

We were lucky as we had a few great volunteers and contributors supporting us in Penang. You have to know them as these are the people enabled us to put up the session.

Fan and Min Jia

Min Jia volunteered herself to be photographer, and drove us from KL to Penang. You don’t see a lot pictures with her inside, as she was busy taking pictures!

Pn Akhirul Asmah and Evelyn brought us their home-made cupcakes for the little champions. Both of them offered their contribution to us after getting to know the Maximo sessions organized for the paediatric children. Yee Jia made phone calls to both of them from MAX KL office and met them for first time when these two supporters sent the beautiful cupcakes to Penang Paediatric Ward on the event day.

Queen, Puva and MC

Queen is from Shu Children Bookstore and Puva is her friend. These two lovely ladies brought beautiful smiles to the children. No wonder “Queen” brought Maximo “Crown”.

Brandon and team – they have volunteered their time and skills in balloons sculpture. That afternoon, when we had our storytelling session in the room, Brian and team was busy preparing 50 balloons sculptures for our little champions. They have worked non-stop for the full 2 hours, to make sure the children would have bigger smile on their face.

PT and QN - These two people are our Max Family Penang contact persons. They took leave from their work on Friday for helping out during the events. Both of them also the main persons helping us to get all the goodie bags items prepared.

Mdm Cheong and his son, Jia Wei, and his husband, Mr Lee came to both sessions at Shu Book Store and Hospital Seberang Jaya showing their support and helped us in organizing the session. This lovely couple and their young son have showed us the great value of giving.

Kok Hong – another photographer of Hospital Penang session that we do not have his photo. He is too busy with photo taking.

And of course, the most important team – Dr Yeoh and her healthcare team. Dr Yeoh was busy with an emergency case during that afternoon and was unable to join the session. She dropped by just for a few minutes in between her busy schedule. We would like to say a BIG THANKS to her for giving us the opportunity in reaching out to the little champions, bringing Maximo.

To her nurses’ team who has extended great support – we say, Thank You! 

Lastly, group photo of us in Hospital Penang Maximo session - we brought Maximo to the little champions, along with all your blessings. 

From L - R: MC, Dr Razak, PT, QN, Fan, MinJia, YeeJia

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When I wrote this entry, I asked Yee Jia if she would like to share her thoughts with us - anything in her mind after the Maximo session in Penang Hospital. 

Yee Jia is 4 weeks old in MAX Malaysia office. 

For this Penang sessions, I traveled with Yee Jia from MAX Malaysia office, joint-forces with Max Family core group members and volunteers. 

This is what Yee Jia wrote: 

Joining the first event during my first month with MAX was an amazing experience.

It was a muggy Friday noon. When we arrived at Hospital Pulau Pinang, there were two angels coming to us with big friendly smiles – Sister Fiza and Suhaila have been expecting our arrival since we planned the storytelling session with their children few weeks ago.

All along our walk to paediatric wards, the dated long corridor was filled with lively energy of people. Soon we entered the world of our little fighters. Their wheelchairs are all-powerful Batmobile; the drips are mighty Spiderman Web Gun. 

These superheroes stood up proudly with their best weapons against the Big C. I would never been able to describe how brave they are in words. When they were carrying Maximo in their hands, I could see the hope and joy in their eyes.

Their laughter beamed up the sky. The dark and gloomy noon gave way to clear evening sky as we walked out the hospital. I waved. A big boy smiled back with a grin that melted my heart. 

For sure, it was an enriching trip to embark my new journey with MAX.

Yee Jia

OK... see where will Maximo flies to next?

This little sparrow will be flying around reaching our little champions through paediatric department in hospitals Malaysia.... with your support and help of course!

Here in Max Family, we are proud to say that we are very overwhelming!

We have received request from our physicians around the country, requesting us to bring our Maximo to the children in paeds ward. They would like to see the energy, the courage and passion transferring to little champions and their parents, families, as well as medical healthcare team.

Yes, we are doing our very best, flying on the wings of hope of Maximo, bringing your blessings and support along.

This is the updates of our destinations so far - we believe this list will grow! Check it out!

• 11 Oct - Hospita Wanita & Kanak-kanak Sabah
• 25 Oct - Hospital Pulau Pinang
• 25 Oct evening - Storytelling and sharing at Shu Bookstore at Georgetown, Penang - calling the community to join us! 
• 26 Oct - Hospital Seberang Jaya
• 14 Nov - University Malaya Medical Center
• 23 Nov - Hospital Kota Bharu Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian
• 24 Nov - Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan 
• 24 Nov - Hospital Kuala Kerai 
• 30 Nov - Hospital Kuala Lumpur This has been rescheduled to a later date. To be updated! 

We have a few more sessions which are now in the discussion stage - will update everyone as soon as we have final confirmation.

To our friends out there - if you are staying in the cities in the Maximo's traveling list, and if you would like to be part of this beautiful outreach - please contact us! We do need your assistance and help when we are in the local cities. 

Come back from time to time to check out updates and stories.
Do leave your messages for Maximo too! 

Maximo's 1st Stop in Malaysia - Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, 11th Oct 2013

So finally, the big day for Maximo in Malaysia has arrived!

Our first stop was on 11^th Oct 2013 at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Maximo met our little champions at Hospital Wanita dan Kanak-Kanak Sabah on Friday afternoon, 2.15pm.

Anxiously, we brought our Maximo from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu. We packed and checked and double checked again all the boxes in MAX office to make sure we brought everything. Everyone in the team was excited (and also nervous); boxes are being sealed with tapes and tapes to make sure it lasted in good shape till the playroom in the hospital.

Oh boy, Maximo is heavy! 

Our Dr Razak and our Maximo - at KLIA waiting for flight

Laura says: Handle with care please. He is our precious Maximo. 

Dr Razak and myself would conduct Maximo and the Big C storytelling session with paeds children; while Wei Meng and Laura would hold GIST patient workshop in another hospital in the same city on 11^th Oct, the Friday. Four of us travelled together from KL. The most precious thing that we brought with us is no other but our Maximo!

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On 11^th Oct morning, we were still finalizing the program flow and details of Maximo and the Big C storytelling session over breakfast. We were excited, and on the other hand, a bit worry and unsure.

A lot of questions sit in our mind – not sure how the session would go; not sure how Maximo and the Big C story would be perceived by the children and parents; not sure if the children in Sabah would understand fully mine and Dr Razak’s Malay accent; not sure if the children would be able to follow the storyline, not sure if the time allocation for the program of the session would be OK. Four of us did a lot of brainstorming and discussion over the breakfast table, and finally, yes, we were good to go!

Wei Meng and Laura left to their GIST patient meeting; and myself and Dr Razak headed to the playroom of paediatric ward, Hospital Wanita dan Kanak- Kanak Sabah. It was raining and raining non-stop that whole week in KK. It was cold and wet outside on the road, but I can ensure  you that we carry each of your blessings and passion with us – it warmed us up and it warmed the children up too!

When we got to the main entrance of the hospital, the nurses from paediatric department were there helping us with all our boxes. How could we manage without the assistance from the nurses? No way!

We then being led to the 2^nd floor of the ward, headed to the playroom. When we first saw the playroom – and wow, we love the room and its facilities. The room are full of colourful cartoons mural. The room is very clean, quite spacious, good air circulation. We found what we need – projector, screen, mobile whiteboard, and as well as cabinets to be used as temporary wall for our Maximo banners.

 Perfect venue! Of course, we also “borrow” the normal saline bottles from the nurses to hang up the banners J

OK, these two people getting ready to rock! 

Dr Razak and myself, with the help from 2 nurses, we quickly set up the venue. Boxes and boxes were unpacked; banners were up, Maximo and the Big C books were arranged by languages, Maximo drawing and colouring workbook were out together with stickers, boxes of crayons were put in place too.

I and Dr Razak even tried to sit on the mat and the little stools; trying to get a most comfortable sitting places for the little ones – to make sure they would be able to listen and have comfortable room space for the session.

Soon, our first few children started to come in – and I still remember this vividly. The first kid shouted “wow” when he first peeped into the room. What a greeting, nice!

Everyone is given a Maximo name tag to help remember names. This is our tradition in all our MAX Family meetings as this helps to close the gap between people when one is being greeted by name. A nurse was managing this registration table. Myself and Dr Razak got our Maximo nametag too.

I was called as “Kakak MeiChing”, and our Dr Razak as “Uncle Razak”. See the difference here, people? J

Kakak MeiChing and Uncle Razak .... "Kids, listen, what sound is this?"

We started the session by a fun movement – Chicken Dance. It warmed up everyone in the room and helped everyone be engaged in the storytelling session.  After we got everyone to settle down, ready for Maximo story, Uncle Razak started the story telling…

Dr Razak did the story telling by projecting illustration of the book on the screen. I was helping with running the slides and take some pictures at the same time. The colourful illustrations combined with narration by Dr Razak were magical – children were sitting comfortably listening and following. Most of the children were accompanied by their moms. We had one child accompanies by dad in the room that day.

Maximo wins the children’s heart – and also the adults! Magical.

I would say the beautiful colourful illustrations by Fan were just super.
Thank you Fan for giving such colours and life to Maximo and all the other characters in the story.

Along the storytelling session, Dr Razak and I were having a little interaction between us and the children, to make sure the children did not lose focus. We even mimicking baby sparrow calling for help when it came to the scene…

"Help!!!!!" 

After the storytelling, interaction started to take place. We asked a few questions to the children based on the Maximo story. Out of our expectation, most the children were racing to raise their hands to answer the questions. Towards the last few questions, children were just can’t wait and even rose up their hands before questions were asked! Proactive!

During that moment, those hours, I can see the children showing the inner self – no one ever remember their sickness; they turned into normal child just like any other children – active, talkative. They just enjoyed those moments, doing something that they can have control.

Follow Uncle Razak to draw your Maximo! 

We then had a session of “Drawing Maximo” with the children. Dr Razak led the room by showing how to draw Maximo, step and step. The mobile whiteboard had its role now.

Every child was given a box of crayon, and a piece of paper. Each of them was free to pick up the colour that they like to start drawing their own Maximo.

·         First, draw a circle (head)

·         Then a big half circle (body)

·         Followed by number Three (wing), and another wing

·         A small triangle (beak)

·         Two Up-side down Y (legs)

·         A small circle (eye) and adding its eye-lashes

·         Finally, Tail!

Here you get your Maximo!

I was sitting with some children who came without parents’ accompany and drew Maximo together with them.

After the Maximo outline was done, we asked the children to colour their Maximo with their favourite colours. That was the hours we observed a lot of sweet shared moment between a child and the mom/dad. Mom/dad helped their child to complete their Maximo, and I am pretty started from that moment, Maximo started to stay and grow in their little hearts.

Some children need more help in completing their Maximo – children who are having catheter on their hands; children who are having blur eye sights due to their diagnosis, children who are experience side effects which affect their coordination. However, these amazing children showed us the tough attitude – they want to complete their Maximo despite they need to put in more effort to do so. These children taught us a lesson in life.

 

We then allocate some time for the children to come out and do their “Show & Tell”. The children sharing were so amazing and among them said:

“My Maximo is full of colour because he is happy.”

“My Maximo is yellow because I like sunshine.”

“I want to give my Maximo a branch because that is his house.”

“I want to be a Maximo because he helps the baby bird.”

“I want to be like a Maximo because he is very courage and helping people.”

I can see their moms are so proud when their child stood up and shared. Moms’ eyes are shining during that moment. I can relate very well to how the mom’s feel as during that time, I felt my mom was proud of me. I can feel I am so closed to my late mother – I know she is watching me.

There was this one girl who was initially very quiet, not even spoke a single word, not showing any emotion on her facial expression when she got into the room. I sat beside all most of the time. She was very focus listening to the story narrative by Dr Razak. Eventually, she picked up a crayon and drew her Maximo. She slowly opened up her heart and allowed Maximo to come into her heart. She even came to the front and showed her Maximo proudly! She is as brave as Maximo.

I did not have much chance to chat with her to explore her inner heart – but I knew when I saw the change during the 2 hours, how she opened up her heart and embraced Maximo’s spirit. Now she has a new friend, a friend that will be in her heart since that day. I can see how she holds her copy of Maximo book, the drawing workbook, her Maximo and the box of crayon. The little girl touched my heart that day. She gave me a shy smile when she was leaving the room to get back to her ward. In my heart, I sincerely wishing her all the best, be a happy child, be a brave girl.

We distributed 38 books during the session that day, and we left 22 books with the chief nurse, for children who were unable to join us in the playroom. These children were the children whom their health condition doesn’t allow them to join the crowd. We sent the positive uplifting energy, love and courage through Maximo to each of them.

Both Dr Razak and myself left the playroom with big heart that afternoon. Dr Razak flew back to KL on the same evening; while I stayed on for another day to conduct Myeloma patient workshop.

I am now back to KL, and my heart is still very much filled with so much feeling – amazing, proud, wow – we did it!, feel for the children who need to go through diagnosis and treatment journey whilst they should have a happy, playful childhood. I also think a lot about their mothers – these mothers did not move away more than a foot from the children. Mothers are Maximo too.

Deep in my heart, I know on 11 Oct, Friday afternoon, when Maximo story was told by Dr Razak to the children in the playroom, the children opened their heart to allow this little sparrow living with them, allowing the passion, courage, energy, and blessing from everyone of us – including you, our supporter to flow into their heart through Maximo. I know the children will be as brave as Maximo, carry on their life journey embracing Maximo’s spirit.

I want to be like Maximo!  
Be brave kids, when Maximo grows bigger, Big C becoming Small C.

Thank you, our supporter, our donor, who has helped us to make copy of Maximo available to our little champions.

Kota Kinabalu is only the starting point of Maximo’s journey in Malaysia, we will continue with the up-coming stop and continue reaching more little champions. Together, we make thing possible.

This is our story because cancer touches everyone, and we need to do something, together!

Written by MeiChing, while thinking of the children in KK, and also everyone in MAX and Max Family team who has worked so hard to make this project possible.