He is just 15 months old but had 25 chemo sessions
KYLE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH RARE CANCER-LIKE DISORDER LAST YEAR
The parents of a 15-month-old boy, who has undergone a staggering 25 chemotherapy sessions to treat a rare cancer-like disorder, are hoping the worst is over.
Dubai-based Nisha D’Souza, who calls her son Kyle a “onein-a-million” trooper, said: “He is fighting an aggressive multisystem disease called LCH and has been through 25 chemotherapy sessions so far, but he is always smiling and that is enough evidence of how much strength he is being given by the Almighty. We hope that his upcoming scans will show improvement and he will be in remission by the end of the year.”
The manifestations of LCH (Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis) range from isolated bone lesions to multisystem disease. It is a condition in which abnormal cells deriving from the bone marrow are capable of migrating from the skin to the lymph nodes. It can affect vital organs and be life-threatening.
Nisha said: “Kyle was a perfectly healthy baby when he was born on August 3 last year. He had a good appetite and showed no signs of any health issues, except for a skin rash, that was diagnosed as eczema.”
However, two months down the line, when Kyle was taken to the doctor for his second vaccination, the rash was reexamined and he was referred to a paediatric hospital.
“His lymph nodes were swollen in several places and his haemoglobin was low. After five days of tests, scans and a biopsy, we were told he had multisystem LCH. It had affected his liver, spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow and skin, besides causing lesions on his skull.”
Ever since, it has been one long battle. Kyle, who had 12 straight weeks of chemotherapy, went on maintenance treatment thereafter, with the chemo sessions every three weeks. “His last session was on October 2 and he has not had any fresh lesions so far,” Nisha said.
Through it all, Nisha and her husband Mikhail never gave up.
She said: “We are blessed with the resources and grace to deal with the situation. Every time we feel we are going through a tough time, we met people who are going through worse. We have received tremendous support from our family, friends and even strangers, who are now friends.”
Kyle is always smiling and that’s enough evidence of how much strength and grace he is being given by the Almighty.”
Nisha D’Souza | Kyle’s mother