Cancer patient carries paralyzed wife to hospital in wheelbarrow in Turkey’s Kayseri

KAYSERİ

A 62-year-old man who is a cancer patient has been carrying his wife to the hospital in a wheelbarrow after she had a stroke in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

Bircan Cesaret, 53, is Mehmet Cesaret’s wife who suffered from a stroke a couple of weeks ago.

Ever since then, Cesaret, who has been struggling with throat cancer for 15 years, has been taking his wife to the hospital two to three times a week. The Cesaret family has been living in Kayseri’s Bünyan district for years.

The Cesaret couple who had four children said their financial situation had been worsening after his wife’s stroke, stating they were struggling to survive on their old-age pension.   

“I have been suffering from throat cancer for years. But before Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), my wife’s situation worsened and she is now paralyzed. She cannot do things on her own. Physiotherapy at the hospital is a must, but we do not have a car or the financial means. That’s why I take her to the hospital from time to time in my wheelbarrow. The distance between the hospital and the district we live in is four kilometers,” he said.

He also stated the doctors at the district hospital sometimes referred them to the hospital in the city center.

“My children are married, they have jobs and they are struggling with life on their own and cannot always come. We have been through really hard times as husband and wife. We also have financial hardships. We are waiting for help from the authorities. In addition, my wife should be treated as a resident at a hospital, but when we applied to the hospital they told us there was no room for us. Now, we are waiting for space to open up,” he said.

Bircan Cesaret also expressed she was suffering from a speech disorder.

“It happened suddenly. I can only use my hand. I cannot even walk,” she said.