The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A 10-YEAR-OLD boy whose father was murdered seven years ago is now battling an aggressive form of leukaemia, leaving his mother to confront another crisis as he spends what should have been the start of Grade Six in hospital.

Ja’Mari, a student of Sadie Curtis Primary School, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia on June 29 and has since undergone two rounds of chemotherapy.

His mother, Donisha Aranha, 31, said he has vomited, coughed up blood and lost weight during treatment, while she struggles to remain composed in front of him.

“I had to be strong because now he's looking at me to be strong for him,” Ms Aranha said. “I literally ain't broken down yet, but like mentally, I just want to cry and scream.”

Ja’Mari’s father was murdered in 2019, leaving Ms Aranha to raise their son.

This year, instead of beginning Grade Six with his classmates, Ja’Mari has spent months in hospital.

Ms Aranha said he was deeply disappointed to miss the first day of school, prompting her to buy him a school bag and fill it with books to reassure him that his education had not ended.

Ja’Mari’s illness developed rapidly.

Ms Aranha said he began experiencing an intermittent fever on June 13 and was initially diagnosed at a clinic with an ear infection. He was prescribed Augmentin and ibuprofen, but the fever returned on June 22.

The next day, Ja’Mari complained of neck pain and was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital, where Ms Aranha said a doctor diagnosed him with a viral throat infection and prescribed ibuprofen.

She was advised to return if his condition did not improve.

By June 27, his neck pain had become unbearable.

Further testing at PMH found that his white blood cell count was extremely high. He was admitted to the Children’s Ward and subsequently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

Ja’Mari has completed two rounds of chemotherapy and is awaiting a third.

Ms Aranha said she is still waiting to learn whether the chemotherapy has been effective and whether her son is a suitable match for a bone marrow transplant.

Doctors have recommended a transplant, which she said could potentially make him cancer-free.

She said the procedure could be performed in India in October or November.

Ms Aranha does not have health insurance and said India is the most affordable option available. The transplant alone is expected to cost about $80,000, excluding travel, accommodation and recovery expenses.

The single mother is also caring for two other children while continuing to work and travelling to PMH during visiting hours to see Ja’Mari.

She said her focus is on getting her son through treatment and back to the life he expected to be living before his diagnosis.

People wishing to assist the family can contact Ms Aranha at 242-822-5529.