‘We experienced real humanity’: the story of a 2.5-year-old patient at SJD

On 10 September, we met Talgat, the father of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl receiving treatment at SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital. The family has been through an extremely difficult journey, and today her father is able to speak about the first positive changes that are giving them hope.

Before coming to Spain, the child had undergone treatment in South Korea. According to Talgat, her condition deteriorated significantly during that period: she stopped walking and developed paralysis in her legs.

At SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital, a multidisciplinary team became involved in her care. The child is being supported not only by oncologists, but also by specialists from other disciplines, including a rehabilitation team.

Talgat particularly highlights the individual approach taken by the Spanish doctors. He says that the specialists carefully assessed his daughter’s condition and adjusted the treatment strategy to reflect the specific features of her case. He associates this approach with the changes the family is now seeing: her overall condition has improved, there are signs of positive progress, and thanks to the work of the rehabilitation specialists, sensation has begun to return to her legs. She has also started crawling again.

But when Talgat speaks about healthcare in Spain, he talks about much more than treatment alone.

Shortly after arriving in Spain, his daughter spent around a week in intensive care. Her parents were allowed to remain close to her, something that meant a great deal to the family. According to her father, the child was calmer when her mother and father were nearby, which also made the necessary procedures easier for her.

It is this ability to remain parents, even in the most difficult circumstances, that Talgat describes as one of the most important examples of the ‘humanity’ he experienced within the Spanish healthcare system.

Having accompanied his daughter through treatment in several countries, he speaks particularly warmly about the attention given to both the child and the family, the way specialists work together, and their willingness to seek solutions based on the child’s individual clinical situation.

Talgat also expresses his sincere gratitude to the foundation supporting the family and remaining available whenever assistance is needed. He speaks especially warmly about Dina and Madina, thanking them for their support, personal involvement and willingness to help.

For MCI, stories like this matter because behind every medical record, diagnosis and treatment plan there is always a child and a family.

Our role is to help families find the appropriate hospital and specialists in Spain, organise communication with the medical team and provide support throughout the process.