Doctors push more tests for 8-year-old girl with leukemia

Julieanne Glory

After she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of 4 in 2016, Julieanne Glory spent the whole year at East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC).

“At that time, she was on a 12-cycle chemotherapy treatment at Philippine Children’s Medical Center,” Glory’s mother, Arsenia, told the Inquirer.

Since mother and daughter had nowhere else to go, they sought shelter at EAMC as one of the five beneficiaries of the Tahan-Tahanan Foundation headed by the late Dr. Marivic Abesamis.

“We stayed in a room and the foundation took care of our board and lodging. Unfortunately, when Dr. Abesamis died, the program folded. We transferred to the nearby Child House, a charitable institution,” Arsenia said.

The Glorys come from Del Gallego, Camarines Sur, where the head of the family, Ruben, worked as a fisherman. But when the couple’s daughter, the youngest of their three children, became ill, Ruben sold the boat to finance her treatment.

The family then moved to Manila where Ruben found a job as a laborer in Pasig City. But when Luzon was placed on lockdown in March, he was laid off and the family moved to a relative’s house in Cavite province. “We were able to find a bus that transported us back to Bicol on July 11. While waiting for our lives to go back to normal, Ruben went back to fishing,” Arsenia said.

Although their daughter, now 8 years old, has completed chemotherapy, she needs to undergo more tests so doctors can correctly diagnose her condition, Arsenia said. The couple needs to raise P13,450 for Glory’s bone marrow test (P12,000), cytospin test (P1,200), and complete blood count (P250).

Arsenia can be reached at 0966-6701320. Donations can be deposited in Ruben Glory’s BPI account (# 4169-3947-47).