Warriors and Survivors -42

Children Cancer Stories by Rukh Yusuf - Blog # 42

I am Rukh Yusuf, Clinical Pharmacist, also specialized in Total Parenteral Nutrition and Bone Marrow Transplant. I have been working in Pediatric Oncology unit of a public hospital for several years. The mission of this blog is to bring to you the real-life stories of child patients suffering from cancer. Cancer is still a difficult disease to handle and treat. However, when it strikes the children, some so young that they cannot even speak, their agony is beyond expression and words. Let us pray especially for children suffering from cancer for early and complete remission. May Allah shower His Merciful Blessings upon them. Aameen.

 

When I first saw Laiba in oncology unit, I thought she was a doctor sitting and chatting with patients. She was looking so well dressed, with sunshades on her head and a purse on her shoulders. She has a composed personality. No one can say that she is a cancer patient after meeting her.

Laiba is fourteen years old and a student of 9^th grade. She is a brilliant student and has always scored high in exams. She belongs to Haroonabad and has only one younger brother. Her mother is single parent and she does sewing to support her family.

Laiba was doing very well few months ago. She developed left shoulder pain that became severe gradually. Initially, her mother thought it was due to studies stress and Laiba took vitamins and supplements for some time. When the pain got worse, the family consulted a doctor in Haroonabad. Doctor referred her to hospital when she did not improve after couple of visits.

In the district hospital, Laiba had to go for few diagnostics tests and seeing reports doctor referred her to children hospital. Laiba was first admitted to medical unit and later shifted to oncology unit.

In Children hospital, after a series of investigations Laiba was diagnosed as case of Ewing Sarcoma. Laiba and her mother both brave ladies hardly engulfed the news of cancer diagnosis. Treatment had to be started immediately so her mother left her only son with her sister and shifted to children’s hospital for Laiba’s treatment.

They are at their best in fighting with disease and spreading word of hope among others. So far two courses of chemotherapy have been completed and she is admitted for the third course. Laiba is hopeful with the treatment and her overall health. Her mother is also doing her best for the health of her only daughter but cancer is difficult to deal with for both patient and attendant and I believe it is also difficult for caregivers or health care providers.

The Single mother is fighting the battle of her beloved only daughter leaving behind her dearest only son and she has to travel and live in another city for a month. Family is not financially stable as well. But most important is to keep spirits high and hopes alive.

 

Let’s pray for ease of Laiba and for her family. May Allah miraculously help them. Aameen

I pray for healthy and smooth recovery of all our warriors, and healthy life for all our survivors May Allah bless them health always. Aameen

 

Note: Names and pictures have been changed to protect identity

Warriors and Survivors -41

  Children Cancer Stories by Rukh Yusuf - Blog # 41

I am Rukh Yusuf, Clinical Pharmacist, also specialized in Total Parenteral Nutrition and Bone Marrow Transplant. I have been working in Pediatric Oncology unit of a public hospital for several years. The mission of this blog is to bring to you the real-life stories of child patients suffering from cancer. Cancer is still a difficult disease to handle and treat. However, when it strikes the children, some so young that they cannot even speak, their agony is beyond expression and words. Let us pray especially for children suffering from cancer for early and complete remission. May Allah shower His Merciful Blessings upon them. Aameen.

Everyone in life has his/her own share of hardships and trials, some have to face early in life and other see them later. Few are so blessed that they see their trials very early in life and learn a lot from their misfortunes. When one is going through some hardship or trials, he/she desperately waits for them to be over and dream about everlasting happiness when the trial is over.

Noreen is only nine years old right now. She was diagnosed with AML when she was seven. Noreen belongs to a family from Chiniot. Her father is a laborer and driver, and she has two brothers. Her mother is a strong lady who is courageous enough to struggle for her child’s treatment. Having to relocate her family from Chiniot to Lahore was daunting for the poor mother. She told her story of struggle.

“Being in a remote area, having two small children, having to have treatment hours away from home, I just didn’t know how we were going to manage,” says mother.

“My husband was working on construction sites, and then driving a tractor in the off-season so he really needed to carry on working”, said the mother.

“We were so relieved when we were told about the residential inn inside children hospital – it meant we were going to be able to keep our family together.” Mother added.

Noreen and her family ended up staying in the children’s hospital Inn for almost a year while she underwent chemotherapy.

“That time seems very distant to me now – but it was a struggle,” says Noreen’s mother, “Having my two little boys there with me really got me through. I have sweetest children, very loving, and I think that is because we have been through such a tough time.”

Noreen had to undergo treatment for more than a year. Her father used to meet them after a month so it used to feel like a real celebration each time they saw each other.

The sense of community in the Inn was a great comfort for Noreen and her family, sense of being in same problem gave Noreen another outlet to speak openly about her fears.

 “No one knows what you go through quite like another patient” explains Noreen. “At a time when your disease is defining you, those conversations are really the only ones where you can be completely honest about your feelings.”

“Speaking to a loved one about those things can be upsetting so it’s really helpful to be able to talk about those things in neutral territory and share your experience with someone you know will relate.”

At last, her treatment completed, and she was discharged and left for her hometown and the family reunited again.

Noreen said, “When I hear that I was recovered I wanted to inspire people to feel hope when they are in the darkness and show them that I am evidence that you can make it through the other side.”

Noreen was always sure to maintain a positive attitude that the hardships will go away, but now she is again here, in the same place with her disease relapsed.

After just one and half year of happiness and relaxation the whole family has come back again.

Noreen is silent, she has mouth ulcers, and she hardly speaks. This time her shining eyes are dim, she silently sees other fellow patients, her mother is speechless too. The time of happiness for which they waited for such a long time passed so quickly and here is another trial for the so young soul.

Her brave mother has brought Noreen for treatment again despite so many hurdles. Her relapse treatment has been started but Noreen and family are desperately in need of hope.

Let’s pray for ease of Noreen and for her family. May Allah miraculously help them. Aameen

I pray for healthy and smooth recovery of all our warriors, and healthy life for all our survivors May Allah bless them health always. Aameen

Warriors and Survivors - 40

 

Children Cancer Stories by Rukh Yusuf - Blog # 40

I am Rukh Yusuf, Clinical Pharmacist, also specialized in Total Parenteral Nutrition and Bone Marrow Transplant. I have been working in Pediatric Oncology unit of a public hospital for several years. The mission of this blog is to bring to you the real-life stories of child patients suffering from cancer. Cancer is still a difficult disease to handle and treat. However, when it strikes the children, some so young that they cannot even speak, their agony is beyond expression and words. Let us pray especially for children suffering from cancer for early and complete remission. May Allah shower His Merciful Blessings upon them. Aameen.

Writing 40^th blog must be an easy task after writing all the thirty-nine; instead it is very difficult for me to write this since I met three years old Summaya and her parents. I am feeling helpless and unable to describe pain and agony of the patient and her family after seeing them despite the fact I have written about suffering of all of them. Sometimes we wish that we had not seen or met someone after meeting them and I have same feeling.

Summaya’s parents felt that their 3-year-old had redness in her eyes since some time. First, they took it normal and then consulted general practitioner from their neighborhood. He prescribed some eye drops but that did not help the child.

After few days her left eye started swelling and parents hurried to specialized eye hospital. Senior consultants evaluated her eye clinically and many diagnostic tests were performed.

It was saddest day for the family when the consultant broke the news that Summaya had tumor in eye and that she had to go to children’s hospital cancer unit for treatment. The mother said that she felt numb and struggled to make the phone calls to immediate family to let them know what was happening.

Summaya’s eye was getting bigger and worse with every passing day. Parents hurriedly reached to pediatric cancer unit in Lahore and her investigations were started. Summaya is only daughter of family. She has one elder brother who is two years older than her. Her father works in pharmaceutical industry as technician. Her mother is pregnant and Sumayya’s next sibling shall come in this world soon. Her mother is taking care of irritable Summaya in such a condition. Poor child is not handled by anyone else, and mother is not fit to look after for her.

For the poor family, more trials awaited. After a long and tedious series of investigation, it was declared by consultant that her cancer was not curable, and that Summaya will be admitted in Palliative unit.  It was a terrible news for the family. Poor kid does not know what is going on with her. She just knows that she is in extreme pain and for the cure she is not agreed to be away from her mother. Her eye is getting worse and its very painful to see her.

Her mother said she is drained, scared and nervous for the future ahead. Her father was shivering with grief when we were counseling the family for the palliation of child. I saw tears in parent’s eyes which was very painful to see. Father was asking if there is some medicine which can prevent his next coming child from cancer?

Innocent father does not know there is no such medication or treatment. We can only try to be healthy by adopting healthy lifestyle. Only Allah can save us from all kinds of diseases.

Let’s pray for ease of Summaya and for her family. May Allah miraculously help them. Aameen

I pray for healthy and smooth recovery of all our warriors, and healthy life for all our surviors May Allah bless them health always. Aameen

Warriors and Survivors -39

  Children Cancer Stories by Rukh Yusuf - Blog # 39

I am Rukh Yusuf, Clinical Pharmacist, also specialized in Total Parenteral Nutrition and Bone Marrow Transplant. I have been working in Pediatric Oncology unit of a public hospital for several years. The mission of this blog is to bring to you the real-life stories of child patients suffering from cancer. Cancer is still a difficult disease to handle and treat. However, when it strikes the children, some so young that they cannot even speak, their agony is beyond expression and words. Let us pray especially for children suffering from cancer for early and complete remission. May Allah shower His Merciful Blessings upon them. Aameen.

Today in ward, I talked to Meerab, a 9 year old cute looking child. At first, she did not respond. I thought she was angry and asked her mother about her silence. She said as Meerab had not brushed her teeth yet so she prefers not to speak until she freshened herself up in morning. I was impressed by her habit. It was my first meeting with her.

Meerab belongs to Mianwali and is the only sister of two brothers. She is student of grade three. She had to hold her education because of her disease and treatment. In 2018, when she was five, she was diagnosed as Pre-B ALL. Her parents mustered up courage for her treatment and shifted to Lahore. Her father started working in a factory in Lahore. They rented a house for their lovely daughter’s proper treatment.

Her chemotherapy started and treatment continued for more than two and half years. It took unlimited visits and investigations and many chemotherapy cycles for her recovery. After a long and painful duration of almost three years finally the day came when all her reports were normal, and Meerab and family were informed by the doctor that her cancer was finally cured.

Meerab was so happy and excited that she was finally going home, back to her friends and relatives. Thanking Allah, the family left for their hometown. Meerab continued her studies, and her parents restarted their life from where they had left it. She regularly visited hospital for follow up as per the plan.

One year passed happily and quickly then on one routine follow up visit and test, it revealed that Meerab’s disease was spreading again, this time with CNS relapse. It was obviously horrible news for the innocent kid and parents. This news meant that they had to again move to Lahore for her treatment and life was going to be same again, full of pain, struggle, and helplessness.

Though it was the toughest decision for the parents to restart her treatment, but they had no other choice. Poor family has shifted again to hospital and Lahore. Meerab is here again in oncology unit. So far, she has completed her consolidation from her relapsed protocol and now her intensification is going on. She is bearing toughest medication with patience and silence.

Mother is uncertain about her princess’s future; she remains worried with lots of questions in her mind. Meerab’s mother says, “I practice gratitude every day. It has transformed my life. From depression and hopelessness, feeling like I had no control over what was happening, I now work hard at hoping for the good. Anxiety and gratitude simply cannot occupy the same space and I finally feel like I have the tools I need to continue to live a strong, healthy and joyful life and that tool is gratitude and hope.”

Let’s pray for permanent recovery of Meeerab and ease for her family. Aameen

I pray for healthy and smooth recovery of all our warriors, and healthy life for all our surviors May Allah bless them health always. Aameen