RIYADH: Nesma Al-Mulla, a Saudi mother, thought her life was over when her son Faris Kashmeeri was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of five.
“When I found out my child’s condition in 2019, I encountered a horrible reality. I knew that this catastrophe will force me to reconfigure my life,” Al-Mulla told Arab News.
Al-Mulla chose to adopt a positive approach to the situation as she has always believed that hardship makes you stronger. As a mother attuned to her child’s needs, she also realized that she needed to be strong for Faris’ mental health.
Faris was too young to understand the nature of cancer and how it can spread. Al-Mulla explained that the disease needed a treatment called chemotherapy in order for him to become strong and recover.
Chemotherapy involves the use of powerful chemicals or drugs that destroy cancer cells, and it works by stopping or slowing the growth of the cells, according to the Mayo Clinic.
With the help of the Saudi health care system, Faris received free treatment at the Princess Noura Oncology Center at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah.
Al-Mulla would give Faris gifts after each chemotherapy session to motivate him. “(It) encouraged him to go to the hospital and complete his treatment,” she said.
“This method of motivating him had a wonderful effect on him, and he still loves the hospital and does not regard it as a painful experience. I tried to buy him brand-new toys so that he would look forward to them throughout each chemotherapy session.”
The single mother of three and provider for her family decided to document her son’s medical treatment on social media.
“My son’s name means ‘knight,’ so I nicknamed the account ‘leukemia knight.’ The account was rewarded by a local Jeddah hospital called National Guard Hospital. This journey through social media was a source of inspiration for many women who are going through the same thing,” she said.
Al-Mulla shared images of her son receiving therapy in the hospital on the Instagram account, documenting his journey using positive images. The posts attracted a lot of attention, especially from mothers with children with cancer.
“I had no idea that what I was doing was inspiring, other than from the responses I received from mothers. Many of them urged me to continue spreading the word about pediatric cancer since I had made the illness understandable to them and given them the motivation to carry on,” she said.
Doctors reassured Al-Mulla that there was a 95 percent chance of her son recovering, and in 2022 Faris was declared free from cancer.
Al-Mulla then made the decision to establish Nesma Community, an initiative to support mothers who have children with cancer and that helps them to improve their quality of life.
The center provides yoga and mental health classes, workshops on how to deal with pressure, recreational activities, and meetings with doctors to discuss cases.
The community initiative was approved by the Kingdom’s Quality of Life Program and listed on the Hawi portal, which provides support to community groups, organizations and interests.
Al-Mulla’s center hosts a range of events in Riyadh and Jeddah. Forthcoming events will discuss a variety of subjects in collaboration with experts and medical professionals. Topics include the impact of therapy on the lungs and breathing, yoga sessions, and leukemia awareness month.
Faris, who is now a healthy child enjoying all the activities of his age group, has a message for children battling cancer: “You’ll be fine.”
