[:en]Our son Jacob was born on May 21, 2015. Right now he is almost eighteen months old. Until now he has given us a scare only once – just after his birth,having breathed in amniotic fluid, he had to spend five days lying in an incubator. Then he developed pneumonia and was treated with two antibiotics. Happily, having spent two weeks in hospital, Jacob could eventually meet his older brother Kris, impatiently waiting for him at home. We left the hospital feeling relieved and full of hope that from that time on, everything would be all right. Unfortunately, fortune was not smiling upon us…
Dear All,
You are the only hope our son Jacob has. We do not have much time!
A difficult beginning
Our son Jacob was born on May 21, 2015. Right now he is almost eighteen months old. Until now he has given us a scare only once – just after his birth,having breathed in amniotic fluid, he had to spend five days lying in an incubator. Then he developed pneumonia and was treated with two antibiotics. Happily, having spent two weeks in hospital, Jacob could eventually meet his older brother Kris, impatiently waiting for him at home. We left the hospital feeling relieved and full of hope that from that time on, everything would be all right. Unfortunately, fortune was not smiling upon us…
Looming destiny
Jacob was full of energy, shooting up very quickly, and we were happy and sure that our son was healthy, strong and growing up properly. There was nothing to worry about but one small thing – his right eye was squinting. We consulted a pediatrician about it, but we were reassured that a squint was nothing abnormal for children under 12 month old and that it would disappear completely with time. However, as the time went on, we noticed that instead of disappearing, the squint was more and more visible. We made an appointment with an ophthalmologist and we waited for three months to see the doctor, not worrying excessively about the eye – the worst we could think of was a usual pair of glasses our son would have to wear.
The day of the appointment was very sad from the beginning. In the morning we went to the funeral of our uncle who had lost his fight against pancreas cancer. And it was only the beginning of sorrow.
The information we got from the doctor left us all in shock. We could not take the note of the fact that our son had a big tumor in his right eye. ”It cannot be true! The doctor got it wrong!, we repeated helplessly on our way to the Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw.
It is unbelievable!
We began a difficult journey. On the very same day our son was admitted to the oncological ward in the Institute. The test results confirmed the diagnosis: retinoblastoma – a big malignant cancer of the eye. During the first few days we were in deep despair. We could not stop crying, feeling completely helpless. It was like a nightmare, and we could not wake up. In the week following the diagnosis the test were run on our son and he got his first chemotherapy treatment. Three weeks later, he underwent another one. We waited impatiently for the results. Despite the reduction of the tumor the doctors had no doubts: the eye had to be removed and our son should undergo another chemotherapy treatment.
Fight the enemy
We could not accept the suggested method of treatment. We did not want to mutilate our son and making him disabled without any fight. We started to seek other parents whose children suffered from retinoblastoma in hope of finding a way to save Jacob. It occurred that there is a clinic in the US which treats patients with a special type of chemotherapy injected directly into the femoral artery which leads to the eye. The clinic has 11 years of experience and patients’ recovery rate amounts to 99 per cent. Doctor Abramson and doctor Gobin from New York are our hope.
Hope is not enough.
The stay and treatment in the US are very expensive. The estimated cost of the therapy is 1 million PLN. The sum is unimaginable for us and we are not able to collect so much money even with the help of our family and friends. We decided to fight. We can win with your help! We believe that the sum will be collected, it is only the matter of time. We believe the world is full of people who have hearts of gold, ready to help others altruistically. Even a very small donation counts and is priceless for us. You can also help by sending this message to your family and friends. The more people know about Jacob, the quicker he will be treated in the US.
The time flows inevitably. Jacob does not have time on his side. Each day the risk is increased: that the tumor will grow larger, that there may be metastasis and our son may die.
Show great heart! Join the fight!
Parents and brother of Jacob
Jacob has had enough of the cancer. With your help, he can get rid of it!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UratujOkoKubusia/
You can help Jacob by making a payment to the account:
Fundacja Pomocy Dzieciom i Osobom Chorym “Kawałek Nieba
