Please help my sick son, truck mechanic asks Inquirer readers

Jhon Marc Gratil

It’s back to square one for 9-year-old Jhon Marc Gratil who has been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Although Jhon underwent chemotherapy in 2009, he failed to complete the treatment and doctors recently told his family he would have to go through the whole process again. “We’re back to zero. I thought he was done with all those painful procedures. We just have to try again, this time with your readers’ support and kindness,” Jhon’s father, Ramil Gratil, told the Inquirer.

Ramil used to be a mechanic in a trucking company but the absences he incurred due to his son’s frequent appointments with doctors at Philippine Children’s Medical Center caused him his job.

With the money they earn from selling street food barely enough to cover their basic needs, he and his wife, Zenaida, recently had no choice but to stop the schooling of their two other children.

Ramil said Jhon needs to undergo 12 chemotherapy sessions. “That’s four sessions in a week within a period of three to five years. At P12,000 a week, we would need more than half a million for just one year,” he added.

Those who want to help Jhon can call Ramil at 0909-3067007. Deposits may be made to his BPI bank account (4319-038995).