“Hi! I’m Pili, David’s mom.
When David was just six months old, he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma. One morning, I noticed something strange in his right eye. His pupil didn’t look black—it was almost glassy—so we rushed to the hospital. We were admitted right away to the oncology ward. By the second day, the tumor had started growing not just inside the eye, but outward as well; our little one’s eye turned white, losing its beautiful blue color.
The doctors told us the eye was almost completely lost and that even after surgery, he’d only have about 2% vision in it. But we didn’t hesitate for a second—we wanted our son alive. It didn’t matter if he had only one eye; we just wanted him healthy and with us.
The day of the surgery came, and it was such a strange feeling. We were heartbroken knowing they were going to remove his eye, but at the same time, we knew it was the right choice—to keep him alive and, hopefully, healthy. Once he completed his rounds of chemotherapy and his immune system was strong enough, we went to Madrid for five weeks so he could receive proton therapy.
Four years have passed, and David still goes in for regular checkups. During one of his therapy sessions, someone told us about the Aladina Foundation, and it felt like a burst of energy.
We love going on outings with them because it’s something we can all do together and it brings us closer to other families who’ve been through something similar. Through Aladina, David is also doing therapy with dogs. We’re incredibly grateful to Eva and Lara—they’re always looking out for us, keeping us informed, and making sure we’re part of every group outing. Despite everything we’ve been through, we’ve always been a close and positive family. Thank you, Aladina!”