Esther came with her seven-year-old son Peter to the hospital seeking treatment for his eye, after he came out from school one day and said his eye was painful. She noticed that his eye was red in colour so she took him to their local health centre.

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“The doctor gave Peter eyedrops for an eye infection and sent us back home, but these didn’t work. I went back twice more, and the doctor saw that the eye was swollen and coming out. I then went to the District Hospital instead. They carried out some tests and gave Peter more eyedrops, but still thought it could be an eye infection.”

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After three weeks there was no change and so the health clinic referred Peter to the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.

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“We left at 5am and arrived at 1am, so it took 6 hours to get to the hospital. We took public transport on minibuses from the village and then had to either take a motorbike or walk, but taking the motorbike is expensive.

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“I came here and was sent to the eye clinic initially and Peter received treatment there for two weeks before being referred to the paediatric oncology ward. When I visited the wards, I met with Doctor George and they did some tests and scans and diagnosed my son with Rhabdomyosarcoma, an eye cancer.”

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“This was heavy news, and it was traumatising. I had not heard much about cancer before, only random information. Thanks to the support from the hospital, I have been able to pull through and I have seen the improvement in Peter’s eye which is a relief.”

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“Peter has now been here for a few months and receives treatment every three weeks. I am thankful to be receiving medical care for free, otherwise it would have been too expensive.”

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“The rest of the family are back at home, and since being here the family has shared out responsibilities. We have all been supporting one another during this time. In the future, I hope we can return home with Peter in good health. This would make my joy complete. I am excited to be returning home for a time soon as it has been a long time at the hospital, and I am ready to return to normal life.”