Dyne Brent Mora
Confirming the cause of his son鈥檚 illness two years ago was like wading through rough waters for Rhyan Mora, a 41-year-old fisherman from Masinloc, Zambales.
When Dyne Brent complained of a severe stomachache, leaving him too weak to stand or walk by himself, Mora rushed his then 4-year-old son to the 鈥渁lbularyo鈥� (traditional healer) for treatment.
When that didn鈥檛 work and Dyne started losing his appetite, Mora decided to bring him to a hospital in Zambales which referred them to another facility in Pampanga due to its lack of equipment.
Initial diagnosis confirmed
Mora said his son underwent bone marrow aspiration, a procedure that tests a sample of the liquid part of the soft tissue. The results led a doctor to suspect that Dyne had leukemia.
However, it was not until the boy, who by then had grown considerably weaker, was brought to the Philippine Children鈥檚 Medical Center in Quezon City that the initial diagnosis was confirmed: Dyne was suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Now aged 7, the boy has slowly regained his health and is now able to walk on his own after completing six of the 14 cycles of chemotherapy prescribed by the doctor. Each cycle costs P16,000.
Resources exhausted
According to Mora, he has exhausted all possible resources and means to come up with the money for his son鈥檚 treatment, going from one institution to another to ask for help.
鈥淲e go back to Zambales occasionally so I can ply the waters while waiting for Dyne鈥檚 next chemotherapy session,鈥� said the lone breadwinner of a family of six.
Mora earns between P150 and P300 a day from fishing.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just how our life is. We鈥檝e been here and there, looking and asking for help from whoever and wherever possible,鈥� he said.
Donations for his son鈥檚 eight remaining chemo cycles can be made through Mora鈥檚 BDO account (# 002410179610). He can be contacted at 0909-6711717.