Man appeals for help for son with leukemia

ASUNCION

DESPITE being overcome with weakness which landed him in the hospital for most of the school year after he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia last July, Shawn Michael Asuncion still managed to finish the fifth grade.

“He had just been in school for less than two months when bodily weakness got the better of him. We always had to rush him to the hospital,” said his father, Gerald Asuncion.

Gerald said they were surprised but touched when Shawn Michael’s teacher offered to visit him on Sundays for makeup lessons.

This school year, the 11-year-old son will be an incoming Grade 6 pupil at Teresa Elementary School in Teresa, Rizal.

While studying, however, Shawn Michael must also continue his chemotherapy sessions. Doctors at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center have recommended a 12-cycle treatment for him. He is about to start his fourth session for which his family will need P80,333.

Gerald asked Inquirer readers for help, saying his salary as a security guard at the Social Security System office in Rizal province was barely enough to cover his family’s needs. His wife, Zoraida, looks after their son full-time.

Gerald Asuncion can be reached at 0999-7822425 and 0975-1327762. Those who want to help Shawn Michael may deposit their donations in his mother’s Landbank account (Zoraida Asuncion with account #1416-1361-45).