When the late long-distance phone call from Greece interrupted Eleni, 28, as she was putting her newborn baby to sleep, the young mother of two who does not wish to be identified, knew that the news wouldn’t be what everyone was praying for.

Her 55-year-old mother, Katerina, who lives permanently in Greece, was recently diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer.

“The cancer has spread to other vital organs. Mum has a few months to live,” Eleni’s auntie said on the other end of the line, updating the young woman on her mother’s devastating prognosis.

Migrating Down Under

After divorcing her abusive husband, Katerina raised her daughter Eleni alone.

The two women lived together in a little village in Crete and operated a family business.

After the Greek debt crisis hit, Eleni, 25 at the time, decided it was time to move to Australia in pursuit of a better life and career opportunities for herself.

“Things in the village were not getting any better. I just couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, therefore I decided to migrate to Australia. My mother was born in Adelaide, and already an Australian citizen but after being raised in a Greek family of migrants and enduring all kinds of racism in the past as a young Greek girl, she was not keen to return Down Under so we decided that I would fly out on my own while mum stayed back to operate the family business,” Eleni said, recalling that she didn’t hesitate to make the move and that her mother
was also very supportive of her decision.

“I thought my mum was young and healthy. In my eyes, she was just invincible and didn’t need me, plus we could both rest assured that we were only a phone call or a flight away.”

Eleni migrated to South Australia.

She moved into her grandparents’ family home and completed her degree in education.

Not long after, she met and married her Greek Australian husband. The couple has a 2-year-old boy and recently welcomed their second baby.

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The devastating diagnosis

Eleni was pregnant when her mother, Katerina, after a regular check-up, was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer.

Since then, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, travelling overseas has become an impossible task for all.

After consulting her doctor and her children’s paediatrician and after taking into account the latest COVID-19 travel restrictions, Eleni says she simply can’t see how she can make this trip to Greece possible.

“I have reached a point of despair. I am so conflicted as all I want to do is run to my mother and be by her side but at the same time as a mother, I can’t bring myself to leave my baby and toddler behind or take them with me to Greece as I then run the risk of me and the children contracting COVID-19 and then transmitting it to my mother. I am also scared to put my children’s life at risk,” she said.

Since the diagnosis, she has spent countless hours talking to her mother on video calls trying to make up for the lost time.

Katerina is perfectly aware of her situation and knows that based on her prognosis, the time she has left is limited. Nevertheless, she is adamant for Eleni to stay in Australia and not make the journey home as she doesn’t want to put her child and her dear grandchildren, whom she has never met, at risk.

“I am devastated and so proud of my mother and the way she is handling the situation but at times I find it hard to process it all and I reach a point of despair. During those dark days I remind myself that if my strong beautiful mother loses her battle with cancer we will meet again; only this time it will be in heaven,” she said.