Luz is a native of Loreto, a place located in the northeastern part of Peru. Currently, she lives in Carabayllo and has four children, Amos -the youngest- was diagnosed with developmental risk and she with mild major depression, so the Child Development (CASITA) program went in search of mother and son to invite them to participate in this strategy.
At the beginning of the sessions, she was a very quiet and quite shy person, as the days went by, the staff of Socios En Salud noticed that Luz had stopped attending, so they went to her home.
âI was quite shy and did not dare to tell what was happening to me, when they arrived at my house I just told them that I stopped going to the sessions because I felt sick. Another day, at the end of a session they asked each mom what problems we had and I was able to share what was happening to me, I told them that I have thyroid cancer,â said the 29-year-old mother who underwent surgery, but did not return to the health center for further treatment.
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Amos, son of Luz[/caption]
Luz imagined that the next day she would receive a visit from the Partners In Health team, led by a doctor.
âI didnât know what to say, I didnât imagine they would show up at my house. The doctor arrived and immediately asked for my documents and tests, he was very worried because I was not going to the hospital. My husband refused to let me be attended, I received the visits in secret,â she mentioned.
One day the doctor from Socios En Salud talked with Luzâs husband about the importance of her receiving immediate attention, he understood the seriousness of his wifeâs health condition and agreed to the home visits.
âFrom that moment on my husband was more attentive to my health, what I am still struggling with is psychological care, he tells me that I am not crazy to receive a psychologist at home. I still get the help even though my husband doesnât agree,â she continued.
Finding out she had thyroid cancer and seeing that her husband was not paying attention to her, caused Luz to be diagnosed with mild major depression. She said she could not control her impulses and took out her anger on her children, even mistreating them.
âIn the psychological aspect they helped me a lot, I was violent with my children, but in CASITA I learned to control myself. I was quite depressed and my husband did not understand me, he said I was faking my illness, to avoid arguments with him I kept quiet, but when he left I took it out on my children. Thank God I have overcome it, sometimes I get upset but now I can deal better and control my impulses,â explained Luz.
In the case of her young son, who was diagnosed with developmental risk, Luz mentioned that before entering CASITA he could not even crawl, now he has managed to improve his skills. She also learned to play with her child and perform educational dynamics.
To these problems, the economic factor was added, and is that the family could be up to two days without eating. Faced with this situation, the Child Development project provided social support to expand the cleaning products business she had, generating security in the family, improvement in her child and economic independence.
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