Lucas Rauwin Pura
MANILA, Philippines — Lucas Rauwin Pura may just be 3 years old but he acts and thinks like an adult. “He once asked me, ‘Why am I sick when I haven’t done anything wrong?” his father, Reynan, told the Inquirer.
When it is time for him to undergo chemotherapy, Lucas hardly cries even when a needle is inserted into his vein.
“He just extends his hand to the nurse. Sometimes, I tell him, ‘It’s okay to cry if you feel pain,” but he said, ‘I’m not going to cry so that we can get this over with.’ Later on, he told me, “See, Papa, I didn’t cry. It’s because I’m strong,’” Reynan said.
In August, Lucas was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after he developed a fever that lasted several days. He also complained of difficulty in breathing and pain in his knees, prompting his parents to travel from their house in Sorsogon to the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital in Albay.
The results of a bone marrow test showed that he had leukemia and a doctor referred the boy to the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) in Quezon City where another doctor recommended 14 cycles of chemotherapy, each one costing P65,668.
On Oct. 24, Lucas had just completed half of the first cycle when he suffered a seizure and his blood pressure became elevated. Laboratory tests showed that he was allergic to one of the medications used for chemotherapy. As a result, he was confined at the PCMC until Dec. 12 so his doctor could monitor him for any more adverse reactions while he continued treatment.
“The doctor told us to return in January for the second chemotherapy cycle. Lucas will probably be confined again for monitoring,” said Reynan. He is the one looking after his son at the hospital because his wife is pregnant.
The doctor prescribed levetiracetam (antiseizure medication) and amlodipine for Lucas to make sure his blood level remains normal. Reynan was also instructed to check his blood pressure thrice daily. “Right now, we don’t have our own blood pressure monitor so we borrow one from another patient. But it will be better if we can buy our own,” he said.
To save on fare money and make it easier for their son to seek treatment, Reynan and his wife, Rea, initially stayed with a relative in Fairview, until they moved to Child Haus, a temporary home for cancer-stricken kids and their parents, near the PCMC.
Reynan confessed that he has long run out of money and he doesn’t know if he still has a job to return to in Sorsogon. “When I left, I told my employer that I was going on leave to look after my son. I didn’t know that it would take this long,” he said. As a gardener, he earned P9,000 a month, an income he supplemented by moonlighting as a fisherman.
Those who want to help Lucas can deposit their donations in his mother’s BDO account (Rea H Pura, account No. 003640666342). Reynan can be contacted at 0950-1455180.