Our amazing childhood face of cancer
- Ника Давыдова
- 28 июл. 2011 г.
- 3 мин. чтения
STEPHEN MUDIARI | NATION Ms Phoebe Hughes (left) hugs her nine-year-old daughter Rose Nasimiyu at Nation Centre in Nairobi on Wednesday.
A bubbly personality.
That sums up nine-year-old Rose Nasimiyu whose radiance lights up any room she walks into, her gait a mark of confidence.
Yet at her tender age, Rose is dealing with a disease that sometimes denies her the chance to be a child, but has catapulted her into something of a celebrity, with numerous appearances on TV and newspapers.
The Standard Four pupil at CathSam Primary school in Umoja Innercore, Nairobi, has become the childhood face of cancer; she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last April.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of lymph tissue found in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, bone marrow, and other sites. Keep smiling
Her three-months have been excruciating but courage triumphed over fears, and inspired thousands.
In Nasimiyu’s facebook, Matriah Griffin Amalemba, for example, writes: “Your braveness puts tears in my eyes. Keep smiling baby. God’s with you.”
She lives by the adage: “Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death” — a testimony to her wit and intelligence.
According to her mother Phoebe Hughes, 34, Nasimiyu or Princes as she is fondly called, contracted chicken pox, which was treated last November, but weeks later she noted a growth in her left armpit.
This set off fruitless medical sojourns made even more agonising by the lack of a proper diagnosis.
“Princess had undergone some investigations and was told to wait for a day, but due to the anxiety I went to another doctor for interpretations. The anxiety was killing me,” she explained.
The doctor assumed she had already been briefed and told her she needed to start chemotherapy right away.
“Your daughter has cancer,” are the last words she remembers before she broke into screams.
Three months later, Princess now has to go through 16 courses of chemotherapy at Gertrude’s Children’s hospital every fortnight.
“I’ve undergone six now and I have another 10 to go,” Princess prompts. “I will conquer cancer and not vice versa.” Chemotherapy costs Sh50,000 to Sh60,000 per session.
Mother and daughter are a playful jolly pair who consider themselves friends first, before anything else. But where do they both draw their strength?
“From her?” they reply in unison each pointing at the other.
“God allows us to face challenges so they can make us stronger people to deal with tougher issues,” Nasimiyu chips in before she saunters away to converse with a journalist.
When she paid a visit to Nation Centre on Wednesday evening, Nasimiyu’s premier interest was to meet the team behind the children’s corner in the DN2 pull-out.
It is her inquisitive nature that fuels her well informed arguments in any crowd. Her favourite reading comprises fairy tales like The Ugly Duckling, Alice in Wonderland and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She also keenly follows on current affairs.
Cartoons too, are close to her heart.
Though two years old, her younger brother Zac has noted that some days, his sister Nasimiyu is not as cheerful and playful — after chemotherapy.
“He will cautiously approach where Nasimiyu’s is lying and caress her cheek, then sit, closely watching her,” her mother says. As schools close for August holidays, she will have attended school for a cumulative 15 days in Second Term, yet her academic scores are impressive.
Nasimiyu’s second term report card reads: English 86 per cent, Kiswahili 86 per cent, Social Studies 94 per cent, Mathematics 72 per cent and Science 84 per cent. Her total score is 422 marks out of a possible 500.
Her ambition is to become a paediatric oncologist and a part-time model. Paediatric oncology is the branch of medicine in the study of childhood cancers.
Nasimiyu prefers indigenous foods and finds the knife-and-fork protocol at formal luncheons and dinners, rather cumbersome. She has written a song I believe which gives an account of her feelings and hope.
The CD is at the DVD centre located at Lonroh House mezzanine 2 for Sh500. She hopes the proceeds will help with medical expenses.
As Nasimiyu and the Nation chat away, her mother Phoebe Hughes’ phone 0724551754 beeps.
A Good Samaritan has sent a contribution through M-Pesa. The family has also opened a Barclays Rose Nasimiyu account number 075 1391641 for any well-wishers to help her fight cancer.
Related Story: Videos: The story of 9 year old Rose Nasimiyu
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