Pandemic makes life tougher for 7-year-old boy battling leukemia

Alpha Niel Senillo

MANILA, Philippines — It was December 2016 when Amie Senillo first learned that her youngest son, Alpha Niel, would have to live with acute lymphoblastic leukemia his whole life.

The boy was only 2 years old when he was diagnosed with the disease that affects the blood and bone marrow. Now aged 7, he continues to undergo chemotherapy after suffering a relapse.

“We’re at the hospital almost every day,” says Senillo, who acts as her son’s primary caretaker.

“We barely have money for our meals, what more for our transportation? We have to commute from our house every time we go to Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) in Quezon City,” she adds. Her family lives in Antipolo City.

Before the pandemic, she and Alpha Niel would ask for permission from PCMC personnel to sleep in the hospital corridors at night instead of going home to save on fare money. But due to current health protocols against COVID-19, staying overnight in the hospital is no longer an option. Senillo says she spends more than P1,500 a week to bring her son to PCMC for his treatment.

The pandemic has also worsened the family’s financial situation. Arnil, Senillo’s husband, lost his job when the lockdowns were imposed.

“We didn’t know what to do. We didn’t even have the money to sustain our daily needs,” Senillo says. “Whenever someone was offering simple jobs, Arnil would take it and that’s how we’ve managed to survive.”

Arnil now depends on odd jobs to sustain his family of five. The couple’s other two children are currently in school, while Alpha Niel had to drop out to focus on getting better.

The boy’s doctor has required him to undergo chemotherapy three to four days a week.

Senillo estimates they spend around P3,000 a week for his sessions on top of an additional P9,000 for laboratory tests that include complete blood count, intrathecal injections, and periodic bone marrow aspirations to make sure the cancer cells haven’t spread.

On top of these, the family needs at least P112,342.10 a year for Alpha Niel’s maintenance and regular medication like vincristine, L-asparaginase, and methotrexate (for chemotherapy) and ondansetron (to combat treatment’s side effects). Senillo can be reached at 0946-7976995. For those who want to help Alpha Niel, donations can be deposited in the BDO account of his father, Arnil Senillo (000210701633).