Responding to a heartfelt call made by his family on social media, many citizens in the Black Sea province of Rize gathered to share in the joy of 5-year-old Emir Ali Duysak, who has triumphed over cancer after being diagnosed with the disease two and a half years ago. To celebrate, balloons were released into the sky in his honor.
Emir Ali, the son of Vural and Tuğba Duysak from Taşlık village, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was just 2.5 years old. After undergoing a difficult and intensive treatment process at Karadeniz Technical University’s Farabi Hospital in Trabzon, Emir Ali made a full recovery.
To express their joy and fulfill their son’s wish, the Duysak family made a public invitation through social media.
Their message read, “Our Emir Ali has overcome a very difficult struggle. Now, to see a big smile on his face, we will color the sky together. We invite everyone in Rize to join us in this joyful moment.”
Following the circulation of the family’s message and a visual announcement on local news platforms and social media, hundreds of people gathered in a green area in Rize’s Portakallık neighborhood to support Emir Ali.
Support also came from Çaykur Rizespor’s fan group, who presented Emir Ali with the green-and-blue team jersey.
Participants at the event released colorful balloons into the sky to honor Emir Ali’s strength and celebrate his recovery.
Emir Ali’s mother, Tuğba Duysak, expressed her immense happiness after completing a difficult 2.5-year period.
“At first, we couldn’t even accept the diagnosis,” she said.
“We couldn’t bring ourselves to say the name of the disease. We told everyone, ‘There’s a blood issue, but it will get better.’ When they said ‘leukemia,’ we said, ‘We are strong with our child, we will win this fight.’ That’s how we approached treatment. We always tried to keep our spirits high. We made it through. Let this be a message of hope to everyone. Staying positive is so important.”
She shared that they received the good news last week, “There is nothing bad left in his body. He’s completely clean. At that moment, I said, ‘This will be the last time I cry, and it ends here.’ It’s hard to believe because for 2.5 years we lived a very isolated life. We didn’t see anyone. It was just us. We used to say, ‘I just want my child to wake up and be mischievous again.’ And now... we are truly happy.”
Tuğba Duysak thanked everyone who supported them during the illness, “Even people we didn’t know prayed for us. Now we wanted to share this happiness with them, because they deserved it.”
Father Vural Duysak also expressed his gratitude to all who supported them during the treatment process, “It was a difficult journey, but thank God, we’ve overcome it. May God never let anyone face such a disease.”
