Musician Mnqobi "Shota" Mdabe says that his family broke down when doctors diagnosed his youngest son with eye cancer and told him that they would have to remove his eye in an emergency operation.
Speaking to DJ Fresh on Metro FM this week‚ Shota revealed that his son had been fighting eye cancer since the age of one.
He said that his son was born with squint eye which‚ after a recommendation from a stranger‚ was diagnosed by a doctor.
Not expecting the worst‚ the couple took their son to a doctor‚ who told them that they needed to do an emergency operation‚ because the cancer they had discovered was spreading.
"That moment when the doctor told us: 'Unfortunately I don't have good news for you. Your son has cancer.' I look at the guy‚ his face‚" Shota said.
They were told to go for further tests to determine if an operation on his second eye would be needed.
Shota said he and his wife Phumeza Mdabe broke down on the way back from the hospital.
"We were sobbing in the car. I am very strong. I am a Zulu warrior but I just couldn't take it... it broke us."
In that moment‚ the couple decided that they needed to put their successful careers on hold to look after their son.
"You have to choose to please the streets or focus on your son. It happened at a time when our careers (were going well). My wife was doing Our Perfect Wedding‚ her first big gig‚ and I was always out of the country. Things were going well and now you are told that each eye is R17‚000 (for a prosthetic eye) and medical aid won't cover it because it is cosmetic...That is when we decided to withdraw from the limelight.
Although doctors promised to try save their son's second eye‚ a year later they were told that doctors could not do anything more and would have to remove it.
He said that the couple's relationship grew stronger after the diagnosis and they often relied on each other for support.
Phumeza first revealed her son's cancer battle in February last year.
"It made me more sympathetic as a person and to pay attention to people who are going through things and humble myself in life‚” she told Sowetan.
She took to Instagram after Shota's interview to tell Metro FM sports presenter Mpho Maboi that the experience was "the most difficult thing ever".
"(I'm) still not sure how we actually got through it because talking about it is like we talking about someone else because now life is beautiful again after all the lessons. God is real. God is love. Without him‚ everything would have fell apart. I'm really humbled!" she wrote.
Source: TMG Digital.
'It broke us' - Shota relives the pain of his son being diagnosed with cancer
Speaking to DJ Fresh on Metro FM this week‚ Shota revealed that his son had been fighting eye cancer since the age of one.
He said that his son was born with squint eye which‚ after a recommendation from a stranger‚ was diagnosed by a doctor.
Not expecting the worst‚ the couple took their son to a doctor‚ who told them that they needed to do an emergency operation‚ because the cancer they had discovered was spreading.
"That moment when the doctor told us: 'Unfortunately I don't have good news for you. Your son has cancer.' I look at the guy‚ his face‚" Shota said.
They were told to go for further tests to determine if an operation on his second eye would be needed.
Shota said he and his wife Phumeza Mdabe broke down on the way back from the hospital.
"We were sobbing in the car. I am very strong. I am a Zulu warrior but I just couldn't take it... it broke us."
In that moment‚ the couple decided that they needed to put their successful careers on hold to look after their son.
"You have to choose to please the streets or focus on your son. It happened at a time when our careers (were going well). My wife was doing Our Perfect Wedding‚ her first big gig‚ and I was always out of the country. Things were going well and now you are told that each eye is R17‚000 (for a prosthetic eye) and medical aid won't cover it because it is cosmetic...That is when we decided to withdraw from the limelight.
Although doctors promised to try save their son's second eye‚ a year later they were told that doctors could not do anything more and would have to remove it.
He said that the couple's relationship grew stronger after the diagnosis and they often relied on each other for support.
Phumeza first revealed her son's cancer battle in February last year.
"It made me more sympathetic as a person and to pay attention to people who are going through things and humble myself in life‚” she told Sowetan.
She took to Instagram after Shota's interview to tell Metro FM sports presenter Mpho Maboi that the experience was "the most difficult thing ever".
"(I'm) still not sure how we actually got through it because talking about it is like we talking about someone else because now life is beautiful again after all the lessons. God is real. God is love. Without him‚ everything would have fell apart. I'm really humbled!" she wrote.
Source: TMG Digital.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos