Sharing by Salestian’s mother
Salestian is a happy-go-lucky boy who is always curious about his surroundings. He loves exploring new things and enjoys learning. Salestian is always fascinated by stickers and he gets excited every time arts and crafts activity involves stickers. After trying out snacks for the first time, Salestian discovered that ice cream and the Wanfa dried fish snack are his favourite kind of nibbles. On the other end of the spectrum, he enjoys eating carrots and fruits.
In June 2022, Salestian was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia (ALL) when he was four years old. ALL is a type of blood and bone marrow cancer, and is one of the most common childhood cancers. With proper diagnosis and treatment, leukaemia has a 5-year survival rate of up to 80%.
Salestian’s early cancer symptoms were traced back to his intermittent fever and pale complexion. At that time, he started losing weight despite his energetic self and having a good appetite.
“We started noticing a lump growing at the back of his ear. Two months later, that lump grew to the size of a golf ball. The lump then spread into four lumps lined across his neck. It was then we knew we had to send him to the Serian Hospital for a check-up.”
“The doctors took a sample of the lump for testing. When the results came back, we were informed that Salestian was diagnosed with leukaemia. There was not much time to process the results because we were immediately referred to the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) for more tests.”
Upon Salestian’s arrival at SGH, he had to take further blood tests and had a bone marrow aspiration to obtain a small liquid sample of his bone marrow cells. He also had a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) line inserted to administer medications and liquid nutrition. Soon after, Salestian started his immunotherapy and chemotherapy treatments.
“The most difficult part for me in this journey was seeing Salestian go through so many lab tests upon his diagnosis. As a mother, it pains me to see my precious son getting his blood taken from his arms to his legs. I cannot describe that helplessness when I see Salestian has all these medical tubes attached to him.”
“However, witnessing many other little fighters at the ward complete their treatment and slowly becoming healthy again gives me the much-needed motivation and courage to keep fighting. It gives me hope that one day Salestian will recover too, just like them.”
Salestian’s mother believes that it is a blessing in disguise that she was able to meet a caring community of families and caregivers at the ward because of the challenging journey they are going through together.
“Being able to share my experiences and stories with this group of people has helped to give me the strength I needed to get through this. The doctors and medical team also continue to give their best every day in treating Salestian.”
“I have never felt like I am walking alone in this journey with the tremendous support I receive. Coming from a single-income family, SCCS provides us with financial aid to support our expenses at the hospital. We also received diapers and milk powder as part of Salestian’s daily needs.”
“More importantly but often overlooked, I am thankful for the support services team who is always there at the ward encouraging and comforting me when I am down. They give me confidence in caring for Salestian and often organise activities for our kids so that the caregivers can take a break.”
Salestian’s mother wishes that no parents have to walk this journey, but if faced with the unprecedented, to always stay strong and be patient with the child.
“Stay calm in front of your child as a support for them, and try not to stress out too much. Accept every challenge that life throws your way and have faith that hope exists for your child to get better.”
In early 2023, Salestian completed his active treatment and is now undergoing oral chemotherapy as part of his maintenance treatment protocol. He will be turning 5 years old in March 2023.
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