“I was afraid to leave my children without their father”

Sergio Peris-Mencheta He has returned to Spain after announcing at the beginning of this year the leukemia he was diagnosed with. The actor, who lives between the United States and Madrid with his family, spoke upon his return about these difficult months and how he is feeling, in addition to sharing other reflections.

The actor of When leaving classwho turns 50 in April next year, underwent a bone marrow transplant operation in May thanks to cell donation on the part of his Brother Yonyon. Since he said he was sick, he has used the speaker on his social networks to raise awareness about the disease and the importance of donating. He had not returned to Spain for a year and a half.

During the process, the playwright lost his voice and his sight, among the physical consequences: “I feel more vulnerable, terrified and small than ever, and for a few months I have been valuing each of my steps on earth”he confessed to Mara Torres on Cadena Ser, this being his first interview after the diagnosis of his cancer.

The actor has also spoken about his childhood and the reflections he has had in these difficult months: “I am the son of agnostic parents and at 12 years old I realized that I was going to die and no one had told me that before.. It was my great existential crisis. I had one when I was 12 and another when I was 26. At that moment I came to the conclusion that all my friends were going to heaven and I didn’t know where I was going to go.“.

He also had some words for his mother, the person who calmed him down when he had these types of thoughts: “She was the only one capable of calming me down because, when I told her that the worms were going to eat me when they buried me, she told me how I was just going to give back to the earth the gift of life. That calmed me down and I fell asleep.” And in this sense, Peris-Mencheta has regretted not being able to have her mother during this stage: “I have not had a mother who spent the rest of my life calming me down and in the end one ends up, as we are educated, not to talk about it.not to look for it and to not live with death on your shoulder even though it is the only thing that is certain“.

During his illness, he came to this conclusion: “What scared me the most was leaving my children with their father. And also, at that time, I was convinced that the disease was hereditary, since leukemia is not hereditary”. Regarding these difficult months, he also added: “This experience changes the ball a lot because you put things into perspective a lot more”.

Half a year after the operation, he announces that the disease has disappeared but his body continues to fight against cells that he considers foreign. “I take a medication that I call ‘the diplomats’, which they do is try to negotiate with the white blood cells so that they don’t attack my body. That’s why I have a ‘miner-colored’ face at the moment, because of the medication.”

Regarding the transplant, he also explained: “My brother was a ‘Full match’, which is the maximum compatibility with me and his cells are now mine. However, my body does not recognize them.as if those cells still don’t understand where they are. The house. Therefore, the white blood cells are attacking me (hence the color of my skin) and I have to take medication to counteract it. “You can say that my body is negotiating with its new situation.”

The disease and the pillars of Peris-Mencheta

Peris-Mencheta, married to Martha Solaz (with whom he agreed When leaving class and father of two children), announced his illness last January. “With a mixture of fear and hope, desire and fear, of feeling very well accompanied in the adventure and completely alone in the process. Today I feel good and strong, but they say that in a few days the ‘conditioning’ for the transplant It will take its toll,” he wrote then. “Today I feel healthy and energetic, but I know that the radiation and chemo ahead of me pass over you like a steamroller. Today I smile. But tomorrow too. Let’s go for it.”