“My son was diagnosed with cancer on his second birthday”

After three tough years of treatment, the little boy is in remission. The mother shares the story to encourage those who are going through a similar situation.

Cakes, balloons, hats, sweets… This is how a child’s 2nd birthday should be. For Gabriel Peratelli it was very different. Hospitalization, hospital clothing, surgery and complications marked the date. It was on May 27, 2017 that he was diagnosed with cancer..

It all started at the beginning of that month, when the little one stopped walking and felt pain in his foot. After a saga that involved consultations with eight different doctors and endless tests, her mother, Daniela, 34, learned one of the most feared news among fathers and mothers: the son had acute lymphoid leukemia.

After three long and tiring years of intensive care, the little boy went into remission. Today, at the age of 7, Gabriel is free from the disease. On International Childhood Cancer Day, the mother briefly recounts the entire battle and shares her message with other families of children with cancer: “The cure is coming!”

Watch Daniela’s story:

“Our struggle started in May 2017 when Gabriel was 1 year 11 months old. He stopped walking and complained of pain in his left foot. In the ER, the problem was diagnosed as a sprain, and that’s how we fixed it. treated.However, two days later, his abdomen started to swell, we went to the pediatrician, who ordered some tests to check, but nothing came up.

Then, the next day, he started having episodes of fever, which made us go back to the pediatrician. Doctor came with antibiotics. Meanwhile, Gabriel’s foot has not improved. We made an appointment with an orthopedist, who also ordered several tests. No results showed any problems. But something bothered me. I knew there was something wrong with him and it was no small thing, but I didn’t want to believe it. I heard he was serious. In all, we went through eight doctors.

Ten days after the first trip to the ER, we were able to get an appointment with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, who requested further tests, including a complete blood count, which is a blood test. The next day, the laboratory contacted us asking us to repeat some tests, because the result of the former showed an important alteration. I also said that I couldn’t take it at the time, because I didn’t have a car and it was raining. They told me they would go home and make a new collection. There, I knew something was very serious. I called my mother crying.

That same day, we noticed that Gabriel had started to turn pale and yellow, and that his abdomen was even more swollen. On May 27 of that year, we answered the call from the doctor who received your tests who ordered us to go immediately to the oncological hospital of Cascavel, Paraná, where an oncologist would be waiting for us. I picked him up from school crying. I told the teacher that he had something very serious.

[quote]”I knew there was something wrong with him and it wasn’t little, but I didn’t want to believe it. I felt it was serious”

I remember as if it were today the desperation of going to that hospital, crying and imagining a thousand things. When we arrived my son was attended to immediately. We did all the tests and reported the symptoms. That ended the saga of finding out what he had – and another battle began. As soon as the doctor completed the physical exam, he said, ‘Mom, Dad, Gabriel has cancer. He has leukemia ».

Hearing this opened a huge hole in me. What immediately occurred to me was that he was going to suffer and that he was going to die. I looked at my husband, hugged Gabriel very tightly and said: ‘What now?’. The doctor, whose name was Carmelo Fiori, tried to reassure us and said so the diagnosis was early and there was an 80% chance of cure with chemotherapy alone. At that time he would be hospitalized and subjected to other tests, so that we could find out what kind of leukemia he had. Yes, because, to our surprise, we learned that there are more than 20 types.

Walking the corridors of the hospital, his eyes wandered over everything. Thoughts of her raced. I didn’t understand anything else, I just did what everyone asked. I will never forget that May 27th when my son was diagnosed with cancer on his second birthday. Yes, he spent his birthday in the hospital.

There were three days of hospitalization, undergoing various examinations. Then he was taken to the operating room, where he placed the catheter to start chemotherapy. We left him there and, two hours later, another scare: the doctors asked us to go upstairs, because there had been a complication and Gabriel would have been taken to Intensive Care, the intensive care unit. Another despair.

He went into cardiac arrest on the table and consequently had to be intubated for several days. In that cold ICU there were wonderful doctors and nurses who, despite all the difficulties, helped us to have optimism and confidence. Gabriel underwent chemotherapy while still sedated. After ten days he reacted and was able to leave the devices. When he woke up two days later, a new surprise: he was able to walk again.

The first chemo session was a success! Gabriel was hospitalized for 30 days and the treatment protocol for acute lymphoid leukemia, which is the most commonly diagnosed type of leukemia, was established. But he doesn’t make mistakes. Being common doesn’t mean it’s easy to deal with. No it is not! His protocol included three years of chemotherapy, four of the cycles with hospitalization, three times a week of outpatient chemotherapy, daily oral chemotherapy, weekly injections, monthly CSF exams, and quarterly bone marrow collections.

In addition, he had to change his diet, take care of his health, he could not go out in the sun… Since his immunity was very low, he could not even receive visitors. Due to hospitalizations and chemotherapy, Gabriel experienced changes in his sleep and started not sleeping at night. We stayed like this for almost a year. Not to mention the nights spent cooking and cleaning, because everything had to be sanitized.

In December 2017 we had the help of several people, because he needed a blood donation. They were known and unknown, family, friends and even youtuber Whindersson Nunes. My aunt came up with the idea of ​​picking up some cosmetic kits to sell and help with the expenses. I bought thirty kits and didn’t know how I was going to pay as I had to quit my job. I remember packing everything up, packing it up, putting it on the table and begging to be able to sell it, at least to cover the cost.

So I went online and there was a post on Facebook from Whindersson, asking something like, “Hey, what are you up to?” Unassuming, I sent the photo and said I was arranging kits to sell and pay for the treatment of my son, who had cancer. He then replied, right below, asking how much they cost. I answered shaking and he called me privately. He said he would send me the full amount and that he didn’t need to send the kits. i got excited! I didn’t believe! Thus the topic attracted attention, it became a report on local TV channels, on portals. Since then many people have made my son smile in the midst of so much suffering. How much gratitude!

Three years later, Gabriel was discharged from chemotherapy and the long-awaited remission finally came. Your little body is healed and able to fend for itself. The follow-up continues, of course, but thanks to the early diagnosis everything went well. I was careful, I insisted, I studied and read until they closed the diagnosis.

Halfway through, it was really hard for me too. I started having very strong anxiety attacks. With any flu, fever, or every time I had to go to Cancer Hospital, I had severe seizures. I went a year and a half without driving because I was very sick. Today, with many therapies, drugs and treatments, I am better, but still dependent on drugs. Here because, one of my tips for fathers and mothers of children with cancer is not to focus 100% on the child, but to take care of yourself as well. When your child starts treatment, he talks to a psychologist. I dedicated 1000% to him. Not that I regret it, but today I am treating a psychological illness that hurts a lot.

In the hospital, we made many friends, learned about different types of cancer. We have lost some along the way, but we have also seen many healed. Cancer can be cured and Gabriel is proof of that! They are on social media to warn mothers of symptoms and help seek early diagnosis. No doctor knows a child better than mom and dad.

One day my son got cancer, but the cancer never got him. I hope that, through this account of Gabriel’s struggle, I can warn and also wholeheartedly embrace all the mothers and fathers who started this battle not too long ago. One day at a time. Healing comes!”

Daniela Queiroz, 34, mother of Gustavo, 13, and Gabriel, 7. She too is a ‘mother of pets’: the dog Chiquinha helped her in the treatment against anxiety, which she began to have together with the disease of the smaller. The family lives in Marechal Cândido Rondon (PR).

Source: Terra

Ben

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.