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>From Knee Injury to Life Threatening Bone Cancer: Young Soldier Appeals for Help
Zaruhi Mejlumyan
18:30, October 24, 2014
"I don't place any hope on the government"
This is the story of Mayis Geghamyan, a 19 year-old whose life was
irrevocably changed on July 15, 2013 while serving as a conscript
soldier in Artsakh.
It was on that date, just four days into his military service that
Mayis took on a fall during a training exercise and damaged his right
knee.
Today, he's a patient at the Nayri Medical Center in Yerevan receiving
chemotherapy for osteosarcoma which has metastasized into his lungs.
His right leg has since been amputated.
On the day I went to visit him in hospital, Mayis was feeling poorly
but wanted to talk.
"I joined the army happily. I figured my sister, brother and relatives
would sleep peacefully. But my present condition...perhaps you can't
grasp what it means," Mayis said, showing me the amputated leg. "When
I go out like this, people stare at me."
On the day of the fateful accident, Mayis was serving at a base in
Martouni. He was taken to the base medical unit and told that if the
staff registered him it would reflect poorly on the base. Not wishing
to cause trouble, the young soldier told the staff not to write him
up, but to at least examine his knee.
The wound seemed to have gotten better and Mayis continued to serve.
Fifteen days later, he was transferred to Fizouli and he experienced
abdominal pain. A few days later Mayis was taken to the Martouni
Military Hospital and had his appendix removed.
"The doctor told me to get up and walk. But the knee hurt and was
swollen. I asked the doctor to take a look. He told me the x-ray
technician wasn't around. They placed an antibiotic compress on the
knee instead," Mayis told me.
The knee pain got progressively worse, but Mayis was never examined.
The army sent him home to be cared for by the family. Gayaneh, his
mother, seeing her son was limping, took him to the Mouratsan Military
Hospital.
The doctor who saw Mayis thought the young man was trying to avoid
being sent back to the army and was exaggerating the leg pain as an
excuse.
The Mouratsan hospital staff couldn't figure out what was causing the
pain. Neither did the staff at Kanaz military Hospital. Mayis was sent
to the Fanarjian Center of Rentgenology and Oncology in Yerevan where
the knee was biopsied and a diagnosis of osteosarcoma given. Mayis
received one round of chemotherapy.
He was later examined at the Kanayan Medical Center and told that the
original diagnosis was incorrect, and that he was suffering from
osteoma - a benign tumor when a new piece of bone grows on another
piece.
Buoyed by this new diagnosis, the family rejected further chemotherapy
for Mayis.
But the swelling of the knee got worse this May. An MRT was taken of
the leg and the original diagnosis was reaffirmed.
The family petitioned the Ministry of defense to have Mayis sent
abroad for treatment. Even though the ministry had classified Mayis as
a soldier with a second class disability, the family was told that
there was no official protocol for organizing such treatment.
Upon receiving this rejection, the family went back to the Fanarjian
Center. Given that the cancer had spread to his lungs, they amputated
his right leg from just above the knee. Mayis must now travel to
Germany or Petersburg (Russia) for further vital treatment.
But the family doesn't have the financial means to send Mayis for
treatment abroad. His father is disabled and his mother doesn't work.
His sister had decided to leave college and look for a job.
"I don't place any hope on the government. The man now seating in the
parliament could resolve my problem with a wave of his hand," Mayis
told me.
Mayis Geghamyan is now pinning his hopes on the kindness and
goodwill of strangers - individuals and organizations alike - to come
to his rescue.
The following accounts at VTB-Armenia have been opened for those who
wish to make donations:
AMD-16004103765804
USD- 16004103765805
EUR- 16004103765806
RUR- 16004103765807
http://hetq.am/eng/news/57032/from-knee-injury-to-life-threatening-bone-cancer-young-soldier-appeals-for-help.html
Zaruhi Mejlumyan
18:30, October 24, 2014
"I don't place any hope on the government"
This is the story of Mayis Geghamyan, a 19 year-old whose life was
irrevocably changed on July 15, 2013 while serving as a conscript
soldier in Artsakh.
It was on that date, just four days into his military service that
Mayis took on a fall during a training exercise and damaged his right
knee.
Today, he's a patient at the Nayri Medical Center in Yerevan receiving
chemotherapy for osteosarcoma which has metastasized into his lungs.
His right leg has since been amputated.
On the day I went to visit him in hospital, Mayis was feeling poorly
but wanted to talk.
"I joined the army happily. I figured my sister, brother and relatives
would sleep peacefully. But my present condition...perhaps you can't
grasp what it means," Mayis said, showing me the amputated leg. "When
I go out like this, people stare at me."
On the day of the fateful accident, Mayis was serving at a base in
Martouni. He was taken to the base medical unit and told that if the
staff registered him it would reflect poorly on the base. Not wishing
to cause trouble, the young soldier told the staff not to write him
up, but to at least examine his knee.
The wound seemed to have gotten better and Mayis continued to serve.
Fifteen days later, he was transferred to Fizouli and he experienced
abdominal pain. A few days later Mayis was taken to the Martouni
Military Hospital and had his appendix removed.
"The doctor told me to get up and walk. But the knee hurt and was
swollen. I asked the doctor to take a look. He told me the x-ray
technician wasn't around. They placed an antibiotic compress on the
knee instead," Mayis told me.
The knee pain got progressively worse, but Mayis was never examined.
The army sent him home to be cared for by the family. Gayaneh, his
mother, seeing her son was limping, took him to the Mouratsan Military
Hospital.
The doctor who saw Mayis thought the young man was trying to avoid
being sent back to the army and was exaggerating the leg pain as an
excuse.
The Mouratsan hospital staff couldn't figure out what was causing the
pain. Neither did the staff at Kanaz military Hospital. Mayis was sent
to the Fanarjian Center of Rentgenology and Oncology in Yerevan where
the knee was biopsied and a diagnosis of osteosarcoma given. Mayis
received one round of chemotherapy.
He was later examined at the Kanayan Medical Center and told that the
original diagnosis was incorrect, and that he was suffering from
osteoma - a benign tumor when a new piece of bone grows on another
piece.
Buoyed by this new diagnosis, the family rejected further chemotherapy
for Mayis.
But the swelling of the knee got worse this May. An MRT was taken of
the leg and the original diagnosis was reaffirmed.
The family petitioned the Ministry of defense to have Mayis sent
abroad for treatment. Even though the ministry had classified Mayis as
a soldier with a second class disability, the family was told that
there was no official protocol for organizing such treatment.
Upon receiving this rejection, the family went back to the Fanarjian
Center. Given that the cancer had spread to his lungs, they amputated
his right leg from just above the knee. Mayis must now travel to
Germany or Petersburg (Russia) for further vital treatment.
But the family doesn't have the financial means to send Mayis for
treatment abroad. His father is disabled and his mother doesn't work.
His sister had decided to leave college and look for a job.
"I don't place any hope on the government. The man now seating in the
parliament could resolve my problem with a wave of his hand," Mayis
told me.
Mayis Geghamyan is now pinning his hopes on the kindness and
goodwill of strangers - individuals and organizations alike - to come
to his rescue.
The following accounts at VTB-Armenia have been opened for those who
wish to make donations:
AMD-16004103765804
USD- 16004103765805
EUR- 16004103765806
RUR- 16004103765807
http://hetq.am/eng/news/57032/from-knee-injury-to-life-threatening-bone-cancer-young-soldier-appeals-for-help.html