Terence thanks Rockingham General Hospital for Christmas
Terence in his 9 ¾ chair at Rockingham General Hospital
For 83-year-old Terence Silva of Halls Head, being here to celebrate Christmas again with his family is the best gift of all.
Thanks to the care he received from Rockingham General Hospital (RGH) for acute myeloid leukaemia, Terence is looking forward to his second Christmas since diagnosis.
“The diagnosis came as a shock,” Terence said. “I passed out one night at a bingo game, and my cancer diagnosis followed.”
Diagnosed with the life-limiting condition in July 2024, Terence was ineligible for intensive chemotherapy due to his age, instead receiving treatment to place him in remission, and give him the best possible outcome.
RGH Chemotherapy Nurse Unit Manager Maxine Reynolds said Terence persevered through daily injections, blood tests, and hours of observations with medication dose monitoring and side effects.
“Terence also required monitoring of his haemoglobin for possible transfusions but has responded well to the treatment and not required any recently,” Maxine said.
“He now has injections into his stomach for five days every month as ongoing treatment.”
Terence enjoyed sitting in his favourite chair every appointment which he termed ‘nine and three quarters’ from Harry Potter.
Terence’s daughter Deb took time off work to drive him to his appointments alongside Terence’s wife Margaret (bottom picture), who accompanied them for support.
Margaret said, “The injections are quite painful for Terence, so I would assist with applying numbing patches to the site before his hospital visits.”
After Christmas, Terence is hoping to be here to celebrate his 60th wedding anniversary with his wife Margaret next March.
“Thanks to the amazing care I received at RGH, I’m also hoping to see 100 years and get my letter from the King,” Terence said.
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