17.10.2026 12:10
Halime Gündüzhev, 47, living in Erzurum, has for years cared for her 100 percent disabled son Yusuf Talha like a baby; he was given numerous serious diagnoses at 4 months old and doctors said he would not live more than 3 days. The mother, explaining that no diagnosis could even be made for her 22-year-old son’s illness—he cannot speak, walk, or see—says, “My son is my key to heaven.”
Halime Gündüzhev, 47, from Erzurum, has been lovingly caring for her 22-year-old disabled son, Yusuf Talha, for years, meeting all of her child's needs.
The couple Halime and Güven Gündüzhev, who live in the city and have 2 children, lost their first child at the age of 2.5 due to pneumonia.
The couple's second child, Yusuf Talha, was hospitalized at 4 months old because what he ate constantly went into his lungs.
MANY DIAGNOSES MADE AT 4 MONTHS OLD
Yusuf Talha, who appeared healthy in prenatal checkups, was diagnosed at 4 months old with agenesis of the corpus callosum, mental motor retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism.
For years, mother Gündüzhev has cared for her 22-year-old son Yusuf Talha, who is 100 percent disabled and lives with numerous syndromes at once, and whom doctors said 'would not live more than 3 days,' as if he were a baby.
Unable to speak, walk, see, or eat and drink on his own, Yusuf Talha needs his mother's support at every step of daily life.
AS LONG AS I LIVE, I WILL CARE FOR HIM IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY
Mother Halime Gündüzhev told an Anadolu Agency reporter that it is still not understood whether the symptoms in her child are congenital or acquired later.
Gündüzhev said:
'At Erzurum Atatürk University Research Hospital, the doctors said, 'Be prepared; he will not live more than 3 days.' He is now 22 years old. When the first diagnosis was made, the doctors said, 'It is a very rare disease.' Our doctor referred us to a doctor in Ankara. He said, 'Maybe a treatment can be found.' The vessel connecting the two sides of the brain has dried up. The mental motor signals that tell him what he wants to eat, what he wants to drink, and how to speak are not transmitted to where they should go. When they examined him there, the doctor researched a great deal. A doctor came from America. They could not find out what the child's illness was. There are many diseases, but no single diagnosis could be made. The doctor said that this condition occurs in 40 out of 8 billion people in the world. We could not find a treatment.'
HE HURTS HIMSELF BEFORE MY EYES
Gündüzhev, who described caring for her child meticulously like a baby, said, 'What saddens me most as a mother is that he harms himself. He kills himself by hitting himself right before my eyes. I cannot bear it. Helplessness is so hard... I wish a solution could be found. We use sedative medications. They do not last half an hour. When the effect wears off, he starts hitting himself again. I have to prepare everything two days in advance. As long as I live, I will care for him in the best possible way. My son is my key to heaven.'
Gündüzhev, who stated that her only dream is to go to Umrah with her disabled son, said, 'Whenever I look at my child, I always see myself in Umrah.'