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The longest day of life
According to Aro’s mother, Aistė Kalniunas, the disease unexpectedly struck like a thunderstorm from a clear sky.
“It just came to our knowledge then. Aras has always been a very healthy child, he attended various sports and martial arts trainings. Returning one day, he said that he had fallen while riding an electric roller. I checked, there were no injuries, so I calmed down. A few days later, he complained that his right arm hurt at night. I thought it was probably related to his fall. We just had to visit a dermatologist so I decided to visit a pediatrician at the same time and talk about my arm.
The boy was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer disease, Ewing’s sarcoma.
It turned out impossible, for COVID-19, three months in a row, so they advised us to contact the emergency center. There, the doctor examined him, but did not notice anything serious. She was already walking out the door, but suddenly changed her mind and offered to do an X-ray anyway. I usually try to keep the x-rays as low as possible, because now those photos are taken everywhere, even when doing dental hygiene, but this time I also had no idea what to object to.
Photo from personal album / Arras with parents
It took me a long time to respond. Finally, the sister who arrived invited her son to accompany her to see the toys, and I was already in a hurry to wait. Then I realized that something was wrong.
The doctor, who came to her, was eager to inform her that she was seeing some type of bone, it was a great suspicion of bone cancer, so she had to go to the ambulance clinic immediately and have more detailed tests.
At that moment, the earth slid under my feet, the whole world turned upside down, and I didn’t even have a chance to vent my emotions. I had to chase so as not to scare the boy, ”said the woman with tears in her eyes.
This was followed by long hours of waiting at another clinic. Many punctures, staff running and without knowledge until the last minute. “As I remember today, a child takes my hand because he still sees tears in his eyes and says: ‘You are not crying, everything will be fine, I am fine,'” said the interlocutor.
He admits that there is still hope that the tumor is not malignant, but sadly the most dire fears have been confirmed. The boy was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer disease, Ewing’s sarcoma.
The result of the treatment was disappointing.
A long treatment followed. Six courses of chemotherapy lasted for nine months, as with each course, blood counts became increasingly difficult to recover. For five days after chemotherapy, saline was infused with a drug that protects the organs, especially the liver, from the side effects of aggressive treatment.
Photo from personal album / Arras
Then an operation was performed in which the tumor was removed along with a part of the bone that was replaced by the implant. Examination of the excised tumor revealed that chemotherapy did not kill it at all, it only destroyed 60%. cancer cells, and a good result starts at 90 percent. Furthermore, it was not possible to remove all the cells that had become tissues. Because some of them got wrapped in the nerve that goes there, which is dangerous to touch. In such cases, radiation therapy is often used, but it is not possible for Arus in this part of the body due to the implant.
“So far, we have received chemotherapy again, which we should complete in June-July next year, although I am not sure if it works really well, because the result of tumor destruction is not very good.
Doctors say I have to wait and see how the disease develops, and for me as a mother, the hardest part is waiting without doing anything. However, doctors are not changing the plan yet. It will also irradiate your lungs as the cancer has spread there as well. Lung surgery is not possible unless there is a large tumor.
According to statistics, if the cancer has not spread, 75 percent survive. 30% of patients. However, we are always given hope in the stories of children who live 10-20 years after illness. Of course, there are other stories, maybe you shouldn’t read them. There is also hope that if standard testing doesn’t help, there is an opportunity to participate in clinical trials of the newer drugs, ”Aist dijo said.
He also fires up his parents with his optimism.
How did Aras himself receive the message of his illness? According to his mother, he is a very rational and extremely brave child, he could be the guardian and defender of all the sick.
Photo from personal album / Arras
“We have just explained to him what cancer is, what treatment awaits him, and he has formed: well, unpleasant disease, long treatment, very uncomfortable, but I will be cured and I will live a normal life again, I will play football with the children, I will walk by bicycle, etc.
The child is stuck in his head: a year he needs to be removed from life, to go through this difficult situation, and then everything will be fine again. We live in it, we dedicate all our efforts not to self-pity, to sadness, but to healing. Aras never feels sorry for himself, he doesn’t complain, and because of this attitude he sometimes even forgets that he is a child.
If I had to go through all this, I couldn’t bear even half of what Aras endures. That is why we are very proud of him. It would be difficult to count how many bites you have to suffer. It hurts. I find it hard not to cry when I see him, but he just screams, clenches his fists and suffers. Never let the pain get over it. There was only one case in which the nurse did not hit and the pain was such that Aras screamed out loud, ”Aistė recalled.
If I had to go through all this, I couldn’t bear even half of what Aras endures. That is why we are very proud of him.
Aro’s gift is $ 200
Aras is the only child in the family, but according to the woman, his parents have always tried to raise him so that he can share him with others.
“It has always been important to us that Aras has compassion for others, so even in this situation, I explain to him that he is not alone, that other children may be even more ill. Therefore, even when you are sick, you can share something with others. I tell him, “You have a comfortable bed in the hospital and, most importantly, I can always be with you. Imagine how you would feel to be here alone? And not all sick children in Lithuania have that opportunity. “
Photo from personal album / Arras
Recently opened Unions of mothers Family houses for the parents of the children to spend the night, but there is still everything in those houses. So I suggested to myself: wouldn’t you like to ask people to donate money instead of birthday gifts, which in principle you don’t need, because you have everything, that we would give to children with cancer in Lithuania?
I keep showing him photos of Mom’s Union – how those kids live, how they get gifts, how they celebrate the holidays so he realizes he’s one of them. Hearing the idea of supporting these children, Aras immediately agreed. So we managed to raise $ 200, ”said the boy’s mother.
Two years ago, Aras visited Lithuania for the first time with his parents, met relatives, cousins, cousins, and really enjoyed the country of his parents. Although the boy grows up in English, his first words were Lithuanian. It is true that now it is more difficult for him to speak Lithuanian, but he understands it perfectly.
Photo from personal album / Arras
Aistė is convinced that this charitable action allowed her son to feel even stronger. When asked what he would say to Lithuanian children with cancer, Aras did not think for a long time: “I would say that it is necessary to be strong and that the pain is insignificant.”
The woman herself had previously contributed to the charitable activities of the Lithuanian community in Chicago by giving away unnecessary clothes and toys, and when her son became ill, the need to help others grew even stronger.
“We are fortunate to have perhaps more treatment options here than in Lithuania, so we want to help Lithuanian children as much as we can. Especially since the most support we receive comes from the Lithuanian community both in Chicago and in Lithuania. Americans support it too, but their support is different.
After all, Lithuanians love their compatriots very much and help them wherever they are. For example, a Chicago woman said Mass every weekend. Maybe so far we are so lucky that so many people are praying for Ara and thinking about it. We are very grateful for that ”, assured Aro’s mother.
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