5-year-old boy ‘happy’ despite leukemia

Jared Copro

“Ma, OK na ba ako?” (“Ma, will I be OK?”) is the question Meramar Copro says her son, Jared, often asks her.

The 5-year-old boy suffers from leukemia but despite his condition, Copro says he is a happy child and “always tries to make everyone in the family smile.”

After being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2019, Jared started undergoing chemotherapy at Philippine Children’s Medical Center in Quezon City.

In November, he had just completed four of the recommended 14 chemo cycles when he suffered a relapse, prompting his doctor to increase the dosage of his medication.

Jared was also placed under consolidation therapy to further reduce the remaining leukemia cells in his body. The first session in January cost P38,800 but Copro said the price varies because sometimes, some of the medicines used are donations. The second one was done last month.

Jared’s chemotherapy cycles will resume once he completes consolidation therapy, although the doctor did not say how many more sessions are needed.

Jared also undergoes bone marrow aspiration, blood transfusion and triple intrathecal therapy in which three drugs (methotrexate, cytarabine and hydrocortisone) are administered to the fluid-filled space between layers of tissue covering his brain and spinal cord.

His mother must raise P224,000 every time he undergoes chemotherapy and triple intrathecal therapy. This is on top of the P13,000 they spend for each bone marrow aspiration and P1,800 for every bag of blood needed for his transfusion.

Copro, who is a single parent, does not have a job so she raises money for her son’s treatment by asking for donations from senators. Jared’s grandmother, who works as a house helper, is the only breadwinner in the family.

Those who want to help pay for Jared’s treatment can deposit their donations in Meramar B. Copro’s BDO account (003590533573) or in Jared Copro’s BDO Junior account (003640588392). They can be contacted at 0948-1329327.