Resilient Mom Swims Taxing 1.6km Midmar Mile to Honour Late Son Diagnosed With Cancer at 2 Years Old
- A Jozi mother had her life turned upside-down when her two-year-old son was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and died less than two years later
- Nadia Lewis has not let her grief overwhelm her and rob her of a beautiful life and has volunteered at the non-profit Rainbows and Smiles
- The organisation helps kids with cancer and this year Nadia will swim the 1.6km aQuellé Midmar Mile to keep the spirit of her son's memory alive
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Source: UGC
A Johannesburg mother Nadia Lewis tragically lost her son to cancer and to honour his memory she will undertake the gruelling 1.6kilometre aQuellé Midmar Mile.
Lewis will take part in the swimming event to pay homage to her fallen son, Hanno.
Lewis said Hanno developed a persistent cough when he was around 2-years-old and on closer inspection doctors discovered that he had a very rare and aggressive soft tissue tumour called Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma.
The brave tyke survived chemotherapy for eight months before passing away just before his 4th birthday in 2014.
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His mother relives the trying time:
“Hearing that our Hanno had terminal cancer shattered our hearts into a million pieces. We continued with his chemotherapy and radiation for a short while longer, until we decided to stop his treatments altogether, and focus on enjoying every moment we had left with our little man. It was the hardest decision we’ve ever had to make.”
To work through her grief she volunteered at the non-profit Rainbows and Smiles
The organisation gives emotional, social and financial support to families and caregivers of children with cancer.
To keep his light burning bright, Team Rainbows, completes the Midmar Mile swim in Hanno’s honour every year and this time Nadia heading into the choppy waters for a good cause.
Talking to Briefly News exclusively, she outlines the training regime she has adopted to keep her fit ahead of the challenging swim.
"Much of the preparation is mental. I have had to try and overcome the thought of brown, murky dam water. My fear of that is real. I’ve been training in my sparkly pool at home As long as I mentally prepare myself, I’ve had enough time, I’ll be able to do!"
She told Briefly News her son was a "beautiful, healthy and compassionate little boy".
"He loved animals and bugs. He was happy and fearless!"
She offered up some words of encouragement to mothers of infants who are fighting childhood cancer.
"You break, and you can never be fixed. Take the time to realise your emotions. Everyone does grief differenty. You will find your new normal, however much you don’t want it. Find your purpose and try not to push those who love you away. Always remember that bad things do happen to good people, even our innocent children, but it is how good people handle the bad situations. Make each day count!"
Mom drives son to visit sick bae, SA has mixed reactions: “Creating a simp”
In more news about sick children, Briefly News wrote about a local mom who got caught in a heated discussion after driving her young son to visit his sick girlfriend.
While it's unclear exactly how old the young man is, some social media users do not agree with the mama's parenting style.
Heading online, Twitter user @CeliStewart caused a stir with this viral tweet:
"My son has a girlfriend. She has flu... I’m driving him to make this delivery."
The super-involved mom also shared a snap of the presents she'd helped her son purchase for his sick bae.
Source: Briefly News
