Mag-ingat! Mom shares the warning signs of Leukaemia in children
Mary Anne Loh shares awareness since Ethan started his treatment from Leukemia.
KAMI learned the important reminder from TheAsianParent and Mary Anne Loh's Facebook.
As Mary writes about her son,
“If he catches flu or cough bugs, he could self recover in less then 3 days with no medication. So literally he never had any medication in his life until D-DAY (Diagnosis Day)”
“It all started early 2015, first major bout of flu & cough, followed with mild fever. 1st round it went off by itself in less then a week, no Dr visit as it wasn’t bad.”
“After 2 weeks of break it came back, this round it stayed longer & was a tad worse then the 1st round, took Ethan to a paeds near home, Dr confirmed lungs was clear, was only given PROSPAN & it went off after.”
“Around mid Feb 3rd bout of flu & cough but no fever, it also went of in less then a week. Come March he started complaining pain under his armpit which I thought was from how I carry him sometimes. I keep a close eye, it came n went off in a few days.”
“Towards 3rd week of March the underarm pain came back again, this round he refused to lift his arm. And again it went off by itself.”
“From Jan to March I have taken him to paeds many times, for assurance although I was assured he was fine & partly growing pains.”
“Come April, I notice a little weight loss but he was still active & eating although at times complain of stomach discomfort which we all thought was gas as he was passing out gas a lot.”
“Paeds also assured nothing was “wrong” … honestly I can’t really see anything significantly wrong either … From Jan to April we did travel back to Penang for CNY & he was active, we even did railway trip to Ipoh which he was fine too although a little tired then usual.”
“Come May, leg pain started, he can’t walk long & always wanted to be carried. Stomach discomfort has become more frequent, weight loss became more significant. And again paeds assured he was fine, blood test which was done at paeds didn’t show anything either.”
“We had plans to go Disney on 23/5/15, however his leg pain has gotten from bad to worse on n off, some days he was ok & some days it was bad.”
“On 19/5/15 after our morning day out at the park I made an appointment later afternoon to see a Pediatric Orthopedic Dr Yong Su Mei at Park City Medical Centre.”
“Xray was done & it was clear but our life saver Dr Yong was concerned about Ethan’s bloated stomach & noted that he was a little on the pale side. She then suggested & insisted & referred us to Pediatrician Dr Liew Pei Sze.”
“Dr Liew attempted to “touch & feel” Ethan’s tummy (actually was the spleen & liver) She ordered for a complete blood count to be done (CBC) … while waiting for the nurse to prepare.”
“I started googling … I gauged Dr Yong & Dr Liew facial expression along with what I find on google … my world was on a stand still …”
“It took “forever” for the blood result to be out, I called my close friend Ang SH, her precious angel battled leukemia before gaining his angel wings recently.”
“SooHsia tried to calm me, what are the odds of 2 good friends with their sons having leukemia? At 6:38pm of 19/5/15 DrLiew broke the news; WBC was at 24 (normal is 7, a bit higher if infection) Dr Liew said this; and yes I remember each word like it was yesterday!”
”Mommy Ethan, from the blood test, I am sorry to say the probability of leukemia, a form of blood cancer is very high. Ethan’s platelet & hemoglobin is at a dangerous stage, we need him admitted & will transport him out by ambulance the next morning at 7am to SJMC.””
”He needs both blood & platelet transfusion. He will be referred to Dr Chan, a paediatric hematologist & oncologist, they will do a bone marrow aspiration to finalize the type & to find out more. I’m so sorry Mommy Ethan, are you ok?”
Symptoms of leukaemia in children include:
- Fatigue or pale skin
- Anaemia
- Infections and fever
- Easy bleeding or bruising
- Extreme fatigue or weakness
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing
- Bone or joint pain
- Swelling in the abdomen, face, arms, underarms, sides of neck, or groin (swollen lymph nodes)
- Swelling above the collar bone
- Loss of appetite or weight loss
- Headaches, seizures, balance problems, or abnormal vision
- Vomiting
- Rashes
- Gum problems
KAMI thanks Mommy Mary for the awareness and wishes Ethan more healing!
Source: KAMI.com.gh
