Ayman Safwat, 57357’s photographer showed me a lovely picture he had taken of patient David together with Karawan, Hospital 57357’s famous clown. I was so captivated by the smile of the six year old boy that I asked Ayman to take me to the art workshop where he was spending some time after having received his treatment.
In the workshop, David was so absorbed by his coloring activities that I preferred not to interrupt him and turned to his mom to chat with her instead. This is the story of David’s journey with cancer as told by his mom:
David started treatment in April 2017; he was not yet four years old. No precursor symptoms of the disease were noticed prior to the specific cancer detection tests he went through. He was a healthy growing baby and was seldom complaining from any discomforts except that one time he expressed he had pain in his leg just after he had spent a long time riding his bicycle. The following day, the pain had gone. Nonetheless, just before he was diagnosed with cancer, he went through a phase where he was eating less and looked pale and yellowish.
He looked so yellowish that a friend of mine who was attending the condolences gathering for my departed mother proposed to take him to undergo blood tests. The bad news came that same day we were gathered for my mother’s funeral: David was stricken with leukemia, his hemoglobin was very low and he needed blood transfusion right away. From now on David was doomed to go through the horrible ordeal of being constantly subjected to needle pricks for blood transfusions or chemotherapy treatment.
The experience of David’s Mother with Hospital 57357
The Doctors advised me to go to Hospital 57357. My friends and family members tried their best to find a way or a connection to speed up David’s admission to the Hospital with no avail, they are very strict about respecting each patient’s turn on waiting lists. The Hospital management is to be praised for being committed to the non-favoritism principle. All patients whether rich or poor, Christian or Muslim, are not paying one single penny and are receiving the best quality treatment.
In Hospital 57357, the Nursing team is well trained to deal with children. Nowhere else, will you find such care, compassion and expertise from Nurses when dealing with the children. Nowhere else will you find such devotion and commitment of healthcare professionals who are not expecting anything in return. I am also impressed by the cleanliness of the place. When we were hospitalized at start of the treatment, the cleaning team used to climb up the ladder to clean daily the top of the closet. We are not that meticulous in our homes!
At this point, David came closer to show us the drawing he had completed for Christmas. In his drawing Karawan, the clown dressed in red took the place of Santa Claus near the bundle of presents. This was the most touching way to reward the treating team and the Hospital for their multiple efforts at easing the burden of the little patients’ treatment journeys.
Somehow, I felt I wanted to inquire about David’s recovery progress with his treating physician, consultant DR. Iman Sidhom. It is already one year and a half that David is receiving treatment and his Mom informed me that they still have one year and a half to go before the treatment is completed. Dr. Iman Sidhom reassured me that David is doing well and his prognosis is good. He is suffering from ALL, a type of .blood cancer that can take 3 years of treatment.