LIFE OF COURAGE
Journey of a mother fighting for her son’s life Child battling multiple afflictions
Lastie Letsibogo is a brave, courageous mother. Her life is filled with medical jargon, and she is in and out of hospitals fighting for her son, Prince Letsibogo’s health. Prince battles a variety of cancers.
Prince, 15, was born a healthy baby, but it all took a wrong turn in 2014 when he was eight years-old, when his illness started.
“It started with multiple seizures, followed by vomiting and severe headaches. At first, I thought it was just a short illness though it was traumatic and devastating. I remember how I panicked the first night he had his first episode of seizure attacks. It was a near death experience and since then he has been on a roller coaster of medicines and seizures. We have been in and out of hospitals for years,” Lastie tells The Midweek Sun.
In 2019, he was admitted at Princess Marina Hospital and Computed Tomography (CT) brain scan was performed followed by a Magnetic Imaging Technique (MRI) scan used to visualise detailed images of organs and tissues in the body. He was then diagnosed with a brain tumor.
He went for his first surgery in February 2020 at Gaborone Private Hospital (GPH), but the tumor recurred. The procedure was repeated in April the same year. “He was seen by a specialist and was diagnosed with Craniopharyngioma as well as right eye blindness, growth hormone deficiency, hypothyroidism and adrenal insufficiency related to hypopituitarism,” she shares.
Painful as it was to learn that her son had so many conditions, she had no option but to remain strong and help her son fight for his life.
Prince has been referred to the Global Hope Botswana - Baylor Botswana from February 2020. While there, sodium valproate was recommended for his persistent seizures. “He was also on dexamethasone which was transitioned to prednisone which is less toxic to bone health,” Letsibogo says, adding that for his growth hormone, he is on Norditropin injection which she administers daily.
Though Prince completed his eight weeks of radiation at GPH in November 2020, his mother notes with disappointment that Craniopharyngiomas did not respond to chemo and radiation therapy was recommended. During this time, Prince was admitted to hospital several times with seizures and neurological changes.
In February 2021, he required a neurosurgical intervention and another surgery was done. “He had a routine MRI in July 2021 which showed suprasellar cystic mass. In November same year, he was experiencing recurrent morning vomiting and face swelling as well as seizures. In March 2022, the MRI results showed an encapsulated cyst mass and he is scheduled to go for his next Omaya and cyst aspiration anytime this month. Currently, he has increased seizures.
Letsibogo further tells The Midweek Sun that one of her painful nightmares was when an optometrist confirmed that Prince could have permanent blindness on his right eye.
Though radiation treatment was also recommended for Prince, she is worried that it does not guarantee cure.
“Radiation therapy also known as radiation oncology is a kind of treatment that uses special kind of energy waves or particles to fight cancer. Like surgery, radiation therapy is used in several ways depending on the type of location of the cancer. Certain levels of radiation may destroy cancer cells curing it completely or it could control the disease or help to relieve symptoms,” explains Letsibogo.
As a result of the fact that Prince has been in and out of hospital, he stopped going to school when he was doing standard five. “We are currently working on taking him back to school next term after his treatment, at least for two hours each day,” she says.
She now holds on to her faith and the courage she receives from other mothers at Baylor Clinic. “Mostly, I find comfort in the word of God. I am hopeful that my son will beat this monster,” she says, highlighting that she is already trained on different administrations of cancer injections.