Cancer Survivor, 25, Returns to Help Kids at Same Hospital

Every Monday morning, Claudia Martino walks into the place where she once feared needles and lost her hair twice. The 25-year-old volunteers in the hematology-oncology day treatment centre at Montreal Children's Hospital, the same place that saved her life when she was four and again at 11.

Martino was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma at four years old. She started elementary school with barely any hair and faced bullying, but the physical pain was manageable at that age.

When the cancer returned seven years later, everything felt different. "The first question I asked was: 'Am I dying?' And then: 'Am I losing my hair?'" she recalled.

She missed most of Grade 6 undergoing radiation, chemotherapy, and a stem cell transplant in December 2012. For school picture day, one of the few days she attended, she wore a wig despite the heat because she didn't want anyone to see her bald.

Now Martino spends her Monday mornings in the hospital's playroom, playing games and doing arts and crafts with young patients like 10-year-old Yacoub Ghantous. The Grade 5 student was diagnosed with neuroblastoma before age five and has experienced four relapses, yet he hasn't repeated a single grade.

On a recent Monday, Yacoub wore his Argentina soccer jersey and a backwards ball cap while drawing with markers. Even his walker was decorated with stickers of Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.

Martino doesn't discuss her own cancer journey with patients unless staff members accidentally reveal it. Her job is simply to help kids forget where they are for a little while.

Sunny's Take

Some of the nurses and doctors who treated Martino still work at the hospital. They remember the little girl who loved playing games when she was scared, and now they watch her bring that same joy to others.

"The volunteers and child life specialists help them not think about what they are going through and feel normal in a very not-normal environment," Martino explained. She remembers being that scared kid who got excited when volunteers came to play, giving both her and her mom a much-needed break.

For Yacoub's mother, Sara Hamoud, volunteers like Martino make the difficult days easier. Watching her son draw and examine stickers with Martino, you can see the bond between someone who understands and someone who needs that understanding.

Martino credits a child life worker with helping her through her darkest moments at 11, when she developed PTSD years later from the trauma. Now she's paying forward the same kindness that once helped her survive.

"I just really wanted to give back," she said, and every Monday morning, she does exactly that.