KUCHING: Behind the five lives lost in the Flying Doctor Service (FDS) helicopter tragedy are families now confronting a silence that no words of comfort can easily fill.
For the wives of assistant medical officer Alexson Adit Henry and pilot Captain Zainol Afiq Bee Sham, the tragedy has left them mourning their husbands while caring for young children who are also grappling with the loss of their fathers.
Alexson and Zainol were among five people who perished in the tragedy, alongside medical officer Dr Ainul Baraah Kamaruddin and staff nurses Debra Moset and Jessie Paya Jok.
In a series of deeply emotional posts on Threads, Stephanie Essah, Alexson’s wife, shared glimpses of the grief unfolding inside their home, including their young daughter repeatedly asking for her father.
“Daddy’s little princess has been looking for you since yesterday,” she wrote.
Stephanie said hearing the little girl repeatedly say, “I want daddy”, made the loss even harder to bear.
She later laid bare her own struggle to comprehend life without her husband.
“How am I going to live without you? People will say ‘stay strong’, but how?
“Thank you for loving our children and me more than anything. Thank you for taking care of me and the children until the end of your life.
“Watch us every day, daddy. If you can, please come into my dreams,” she wrote.
In another post, Stephanie reflected on Alexson’s work with the FDS and the quiet worry that accompanied every journey he made for duty.
She said whenever her husband travelled, she would always prayed for him and his colleagues to arrive safely at their destination and return safely to the embrace of their families.
She never imagined that this time, he would travel so far and never return to their arms.
A similarly heartbreaking account was shared by Izzati Syamimi, wife of Captain Zainol, who wrote about trying to grieve while caring for their children, who were themselves struggling with the absence of their father.
She said both children had been crying that night, before ending the post simply: “We love you daddy.”
“Your children really aren’t giving me a chance to cry, are they? Please help settle your children for a while, daddy.
“My pool of tears is already full. I want to take my turn to cry,” she wrote.
In another tribute to Zainol, Izzati acknowledged that public attention surrounding the tragedy might eventually fade, but her memories of her husband would remain.
“People see me as strong on the outside, but inside I am completely shattered.
“You always said I was a supermom. You always said I was a strong woman, but who am I here without you?” she wrote.
Izzati’s final words in the post carried particular poignancy for the wife of a pilot.
“I always told you to fly high, but this time you flew too high for me to reach. Love you always,” she wrote.
Izzati also remembered the other members of the FDS team — Ainul, Alexson, Debra and Jessie — through the personal memories they had shared.
“There is too much to express and write,” she said, adding that they were all good people.
She recalled how Debra had recently sounded her car horn outside her house while delivering pineapples — a seemingly ordinary moment that has now become a cherished memory.
Amid their individual grief, the two widows have also found comfort in one another.
Responding to Izzati, Stephanie urged her to keep in touch, telling her they could call each other even in the middle of the night if either needed someone to talk to.
“Let us both stay strong. Strong for our children. They still need us even though our hearts as wives are already broken,” she wrote.
Their words have resonated deeply online, with the posts drawing an outpouring of condolences and messages of support from members of the public.
Behind the official statements, tributes and condolences following the tragedy is a much more intimate loss.
There is a little girl still asking for daddy. There are children crying for the father they miss.
For families of those serving with the FDS, every assignment carries with it a familiar hope shared by those whose loved ones travel far from home for their work — go safely, carry out your duty and come home.
For Stephanie and Izzati, that familiar wait ended differently this time. Their husbands did not come home.
