Inaam Ur Rehman

It started off as a normal sunny day in the month of July when my children were playing with each other. I was also busy doing the household chores when suddenly I found out that my youngest son Inaam who was 7 years at the time, started to vomit uncontrollably. We discovered that he had fever too. I couldn’t remember him eating anything unusual so it must be the weather I thought or maybe he might have secretly had something unhealthy from a street hawker and was not telling me. Days went by and his condition did not improve. His fever also persisted and it became difficult for him to go to school. The local doctors didn’t seem to be of any help either. Then finally one day one of the doctors suggested that we take him to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital. It didn’t make sense to be taking Inaam to an unrelated hospital that we had heard treated cancer patients, but maybe they had some good doctor who could help us, I thought.

We arrived at the Hospital and I saw for the first time what our little contribution from a little home town in Sheikhupura district, when put together with the contribution of the others had transpired into. It was a huge hospital. Once in the clinic the doctor came in and started to discuss Inaam’s condition. I told her that he was unwell so we had traveled to Lahore for a day to take medicine from this Hospital. I asked her what was wrong even though I knew it was nothing but an upset stomach. But she responded with a word that sounded like cancer. I didn’t get it right I thought, and asked again. She said CANCER. She continued to talk but I couldn’t comprehend anything beyond the word CANCER. I burst into tears because cancer to us meant nothing but death. I couldn’t stand the thought of envisioning our family of 7 without the youngest one – Inaam. The doctor held my hand and I vaguely heard her sound reassuring me that Inaam could be treated. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The sad day turned out to be one full of hope for the years to come and we began the tough journey that would in the end save Inaam. It was a tough time especially the time when he was undergoing the tough treatment through chemotherapy but the doctors, nurses and infact everyone at the Hospital helped us through it. Everything was so smooth and it felt like a dream that we didn’t have to pay a single rupee for the most modern treatment because we had already been paid for by well-wishers and donors they said. Today Inaam is once again healthy and enjoying life like never before.

Mother of Inaam Ur Rehman