Wife seeks answers to husband’s death
CATHERINE Raiyawa is still asking questions about the death of her husband to oral cancer because he had never smoked a cigarette in his entire life.
He passed away on September 27 this year.
“On January 21st when he was diagnosed we were told straightaway that it was stage four,” she said.
“The next questions that came to mind was ‘what happened to stage 3, 2 or 1?”
Two weeks later, Ms Raiyawa and her husband Lui Raiyawa were on a plane to MIOT International hospital in Chennai, India.
“We spent 167 days in India, approximately five months and three weeks.
“Being surrounded by cancer patients was not easy.”
She said after preliminary tests, doctors advised them on the options that were available.
“These are medical practitioners with over 30 years’ experience and yet they told us don’t forget to pray every morning your spiritual firmness is very crucial here.
“We were also asked to create a very positive environment around Lui, we were told these were the two main things.
“This was a big challenge for me. “When the chemotherapy started and my husband had no control over his bodily functions, I didn’t know how to react?
“It was a huge challenge to remain positive.”
Ms Raiyawa said cancer did not only affect the person diagnosed but also the people around them as well.
“I laid my husband to rest on October 4 but I was provided with that comfort and peace knowing that I, as a spouse, had given up everything to take care for him.”