Our son Mete was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2020 at the age of seven and in the subsequent four years fought his illness with a strength of spirit and a desire to enjoy life that astonished all who crossed his path.

His treatment began in Istanbul with chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant; when these proved unsuccessful we sought further care at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Their cutting edge CAR T-Cell therapy, offered only at a few hospitals in the world, brought him into remission for over a year. We will always be grateful for the year that he was able to spend back at home thanks to this treatment, living life as a healthy kid, attending school and spending time with his friends and family. At his one-year checkup back at GOSH we were devastated to find that the cancer had returned, but the medical care that we continued to receive until his last day, from a second bone marrow transplant all the way to his palliative care in the past nine months, helped him continue to enjoy his life as much as was possible. He was able to return to school, to cultivate his love of cooking and fine dining, and even spend his last Christmas skiing in the Alps with his siblings.

Throughout the years that he received treatment at Great Ormond Street, the care and attention that was provided by all of the doctors, nurses and orderlies helped him to feel always at home and comforted. He was never alone, not even at the end, thanks to the professionalism and strength of spirit of those who cared for him and we will forever be grateful to all of the medical practitioners and support staff we interacted with in the past four years.

Great Ormond Street is now in the process of building a new Children’s Cancer Center and we are raising money in Mete’s memory, to honor both his legacy and to contribute to the medical profession that fought so hard to prolong his life and provide him the best quality of life possible in his last months. With the help of our supporters we hope to raise £100.000, so that Mete’s name can be displayed in the lobby of the new Children’s Cancer Centre when it is opened.