5th grader battling leukemia dreams to be a cop

Christian Memoria Laurente

Despite being blind in one eye and having an illness that requires him to undergo chemotherapy every so often, Christian Memoria Laurente is determined to be a policeman. The 11-year-old boy is a Grade 5 student.

“He wants to finish his studies despite his sickness. He keeps insisting that he wants to be a cop so he always wants to accomplish his modules,” Cecil, Laurente’s mother, told the Inquirer.

In 2016, Laurente was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The disease progresses rapidly and causes weakness and bone pain. It also affects blood cells and leads to frequent infections and fever.

In 2019, Laurente was declared recovered from ALL only to suffer a relapse in February 2020. As a result, his doctor recommended that he undergo chemotherapy.

But since the pandemic, life has become tougher for the boy’s family. Cecil makes money by selling handmade rags to the staff of Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC), where her son goes for treatment.

“In a week, I can earn around P260. But with the pandemic, things have been really hard. We have a hard time finding blood donors for him as well,” Cecil said.

Her husband works as a caretaker for a small plot of land, but what he earns is barely enough to cover the family’s basic needs. The couple has another son who is 4 years old.

Laurente needs to undergo five more chemotherapy sessions at PCMC. Each session costs around P16,000 but Cecil said they spend an additional P2,000 for laboratory tests and taxi rides since her son has a hard time walking.

On top of this, Laurente’s monthly medication costs P31,178. It includes mercaptopurine and methotrexate for his chemotherapy. He is also on maintenance drugs like ondansetron and cotrimoxazole to manage the treatment’s side effects.

Those who want to send donations for Laurente’s treatment can call Cecil at 0998-8001773 or 0945-7517358. Donations can be sent to her Landbank account (Cecil Laurente, account no. 3116070846).