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Cristina Pinto
Malaga
Tuesday, 3 December 2024, 16:39
The Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC) has 38 flats in 23 cities throughout Spain with 11 of them in Malaga, offering families, particularly those who live outside the city, a place of refuge who need the peace and comfort of being close to the Hospital Materno-Infantil during their treatments.
One of those people is Francisca, whose son Lucas was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma at the age of 12 and was treated at the hospital. They had to travel there almost daily, but she said "wouldn't have been able to bear it" without staying at the AECC home.
They live in Ronda and Francisca's mind kept wondering what would happen if they had to go "urgently" to Malaga city. She asked around, got information and contacted the AECC in Malaga and they gave her the solution: a flat in the city that would end up becoming her home and that of her son Lucas for as long as they needed.
The homes throughout Spain have the support of organisations such as the La Caixa Foundation. As well as reducing travel time for sick people, this service also saves money for families who plan to be away from their usual home for long periods of time. "The way rents are, it was practically impossible to find a flat to stay in for the duration of the treatment," said Francisca, who spent almost a year in the AECC flat.
It is a shared-use residence with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room and kitchen, and also offers leisure activities, and a translation service if necessary. To go with the theme of the flat, each child living there is given an astronaut welcome kit. That's what Lucas enjoyed during his stay: "He liked being in his room because he didn't like being with the rest of the roommates. But at least we had our own space to be comfortable," said Francisca. "The truth is that if we hadn't had the association's flat, it would have been impossible to reconcile everything. If it hadn't been for them, we wouldn't have been able to cope, we would have had a terrible time. Lucas used to get very dizzy in the car and with the medication, chemotherapy and anorexia he had, it was even worse. They have been our salvation," Francisca added.
Like her, there are many others who take advantage of the AECC service. According to the association, more than 70 patients have passed through these flats in the past year. Within the great work team behind this, social worker Olga Santiago has been coordinating the flats for more than 15 years: "We usually have them always full and, in addition to the housing, we offer them food that Bancosol gives us and all our psychological care, volunteering, training... There is special attention dedicated to these families," she pointed out.
One of the experts on the association's team of psycho-oncologists is Jaime Mena. "It is a very personalised work and focused on each one of them [families'," she said. The team of volunteers is also essential in these flats as they are dedicated to accompanying patients and families and spending leisure time with them. One of the young members of the team is Claudia Sánchez, a nursing student who has been a volunteer at the association for two years: "We arrive at the flat and, depending on what the child wants, we play games, do workshops or simply sit down to talk and spend the afternoon. The aim is to keep them entertained and take their minds off their routine".
Close by is Fatima Zymbioui, the association's interpreter and the soul of many of the resident families. "She is like an angel, she has always been with us," said Mohamed, one of the parents who has lived in the association's flats. "I am with them every day and it creates a lot of bonding, I can no longer imagine my life without helping anyone. It's nice to see how many people overcome the disease, although it's also sad to see that some don't make it," Zymbioui said.
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