KOTA KINABALU: A mother who has been carrying her disabled adult son up and down a flight of stairs at their rental flat almost every day is thanking those who have come to her aid after her story went viral.

       On New Year’s Day, Siti Aisyah Kalbi, 53, posted about how she can hardly carry her 22-year-old son up and down the flat anymore, and needed help to find an affordable landed house to rent near her workplace not far from the city.

       She said she had to carry her son, who has cerebral palsy, whenever she goes to work or goes out to buy groceries.

       The son, who is the youngest of six siblings, is not able to talk or care for himself in any way.

       “That is why I must bring him with me wherever I go if possible. I cannot leave him alone,” Siti said.She said four of her other children had families of their own and lived elsewhere, while one other son lived with her as well.

       “But he can only help when he is not working, whereas for me, I can bring my son to work with me,” Siti said.

       Her husband, who does odd jobs, had health problems of his own and was not able to carry their son like she could.

       Siti said thousands helped share her Facebook post and quite a number reached out to her, offering little forms of help in her search for a cheap landed house to rent.

       “A kind owner reached out to me and was willing to reduce the home deposit and members of a state welfare group helped me pay for this deposit,” she said.

       Now, Siti lives in a RM800 per month landed rental home, where her other son who lives with her also chips in for the monthly rental payment.