This Love Story Between A Helper & A S’pore Child With Autism Has Endured For 10 Years
Whenever we speak of ‘love’, what usually comes to mind is romantic love. Today’s love story involves a different kind of love which is arguably as important — familial love.
The patience, kindness & altruistic care that comes with all aspects of it, even if the people in question aren’t our biological kin.
Mr Ivan Lim – who resides in Singapore – posted a heartfelt post on Tuesday (21 Jan) praising his family’s helper, Ms Rizza, for 10 long years of service.
He applauded her genuine love for their 14-year-old boy – who’s been diagnosed with autism – in a series of heartwarming pictures & anecdotes.
Here’s how their enduring love story teaches us that best friends are simply the family we choose.
Helper loves family’s son unconditionally
Mr Lim begins his post by sharing that he wished to tell a love story.
About 10 years ago, Ms Rizza first met Alex — Mr Lim’s 14-year-old son. Alex had been diagnosed with autism, but that didn’t faze Ms Rizza at all.
He quipped,
She has known him since he was 4 years old. He was half her height and a third her weight.
Son grew taller & stronger, but was “very much a child”
Over the years, Alex grew taller & stronger — hitting an impressive height of 1.78m by age 14. However, he was still “very much a child”.
Ms Rizza would step in to care for Alex, supervising him as he went about his daily activities.
Best friends for life
Mr Lim poignantly observes that the petite Ms Rizza and Alex are still best friends today.
As many parents do, Mr Lim & his wife continue to worry about what will become of Alex when they’ve left this earth.
Mr Lim asked Ms Rizza jokingly during a family dinner at a Korean restaurant if she would “consider adopting him” when the day finally came.
Ms Rizza replied firmly,
Don’t worry, sir. I will take care of him.
Upon hearing her kind promise, Mr Lim later reflected that he did all he could to keep from “bursting into tears”. He was incredibly touched by his helper’s commitment to his son.
To end his post, Mr Lim used the tags “#autismawareness” and “#autismacceptance” to raise awareness for their meaningful cause through his personal account.
Netizens are touched by their mutual love & friendship
Many netizens were profoundly touched by Mr Lim’s exchange with his helper.
We counted a number of them who blamed “dust” and “onion ninjas” for the tears that followed in appreciation of Ms Rizza’s love story with Alex.
One person asked about a possibly “painful” scenario if Rizza had to return home one day.
Mr Lim replied that the family would “bid her farewell”. But as for the “foreseeable future”, Rizza has expressed her intention to stay with Alex and the family.
Looks like this love story is only just beginning then.
A true love story that stands the test of time
An individual’s capacity to love is boundless.
Besides being living proof that this is true, we’re extremely touched that Ms Rizza has clearly dedicated her life to ensuring the well-being of her young ward.
As such, her incredible love story with Alex is a story we must continue to tell, and inspire others to emulate, for a long, long time.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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