Help! Mother living on hope and prayer
OLECIA LAWRENCE, mother of Azari Brown, who will celebrate his second birthday in August is living on hope and a prayer as she looks for a miracle for her son who has been diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma cancer.
Brown’s only chance of survival is a bone marrow transplant which must be done in the United States of America. This rare disease grows in nerve tissue of babies and young children.
Lawrence, who can hardly find the bus fare to make the trek from Rock River in Clarendon, to the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, said she is in despair, wondering how he will get the surgery done.
“I am heartbroken, do you know what it feels like as a mother to look at your child, feeling helpless, wondering, just wondering if he will get the chance to make it,” she said as her voice cracked.
Pouring out her pain to The Gleaner, she said the challenges are many and she feels out of her depths. However, she said she cannot afford to give up.
“Living in Clarendon, I have to go to Kingston for his chemo treatment. His immune system has weakened, so he cannot be around other persons. I cannot take public transportation, so we have to find gas for the car that his dad uses to work,” she said.
Lawrence is also thankful for small mercies as she said she had to purchase eye drops for him weekly, but since last month, the hospital has been supplying her with the drops.
TAKING FOREVER
With time running out, Lawrence said his oncologist contacted a hospital overseas, but a test had to be done first. According to her, it was taking “forever” to get it done so she had to make a decision for the doctors to begin treatment in Jamaica. Her son has to do a magnetic resonance imaging, but she has no idea when, as he is on the waiting list at number 68. The test will be done free of cost, but at two tests per day, it will be a while before his turn comes. “I need help, I need a miracle … I need someone to care, just give me the chance to enjoy my child,” she pleaded. Looking ahead, Lawrence is hoping that everything will fall into place. Lawrence can be reached at 876-366-7347.