Mum’s wish for cancer-stricken son’s 14th birthday: GIFT OF LIFE

Natalie Joseph, the mother of 13-year-old Triston Ramlochan, wants to give him a gift like no other for his birthday on February 7 – the gift of good health and life. She is asking for TT’s help to do so.

Ramlochan is battling leukaemia and needs treatment abroad to survive. While the family, including his father Ramdeo Ramlochan, have applied to the Children’s Life Fund for assistance, they still need money for medication that would put him into remission so that he can have a bone marrow transplant.

The family is from Diego Martin and Triston has a half-sister.

In a letter dated January 13, doctors at the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) said even after treatment that ended in 2020, Triston’s leukaemia was still present and he would need immunotherapy followed by a stem-cell transplant or cellular therapy to survive. None of those are available in TT.

About three years ago, the family thought Triston had beaten the disease.

He was eight when he was initially diagnosed in 2017, and after being treated at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC), Mt Hope, for three years and some months, he went into remission.

But during his initial treatment, the family had their share of ups and downs while helping Triston fight the disease.

Joseph said chemotherapy was really harsh on Triston’s body and he dealt with several medical complications as a result, such as mucositis (where the mouth or gut is sore and inflamed) and an anal fissure. He even had a chemo burn on his chest.

When he went into remission, the clinic visits lessened.

“We were just having normal visits at the clinic.

“It went from once a week to once every two weeks, then it went to once a month. Then it went to every two months.

“Everything then seemed to be going well, Triston even started school again,” Joseph said.

“Even though he missed a lot, we want him to have an education so we sent him back. He was in standard four had just gone into standard five.”

Recalling how the relapse began, Joseph said one day Triston told her his left thumb was hurting. She found that strange and asked him why.

“He said, ‘Mummy, the only thing I do is pull out a piece of cuticle skin.’” Joseph said the family thought it was an ordinary situation, even though he still complained the following day. She gave him Panadol, but that did not work.

As a precautionary measure Joseph called the Just Because Foundation (JBF) paediatric speciality unit at EWMSC and was told once it was not oozing or swollen, she should apply an antibacterial cream to it and monitor him. She tried the ointment for a day or two and when she then examined his finger, she realised it was discoloured.

That was when she took him to EWMSC and the doctors decided to do a blood test, as Triston was a former cancer patient.

The tests showed his blood platelets were really low.

The family was then told Triston would have to have a bone marrow aspiration – a procedure that determines whether the bone marrow is healthy and making normal amounts of blood cells – and he was admitted on November 2, 2021 to the hospital, where he is still warded.

Joseph said he started chemotherapy and everything was going well, except that the chemotherapy initially caused Triston body pains which was “strange because when he did chemotherapy induction the first time, he was not getting body pains and all of that. But now it was coming on, and more often.”

A second bone marrow test showed a large number of cancer cells present.

Doctors told Joseph they did not think chemotherapy would be enough to put Triston into remission again. That was when they recommended immunotherapy and a transplant or cellular therapy.

The family has since applied to the Children’s Life Fund for assistance and has started a FundMe TnT page. Joseph said the exact costs of Triston’s treatment abroad were still to be determined but any assistance in the interim would be appreciated.

That was also confirmed by the Just Because Foundation – an NGO that assists families whose children are fighting cancer. The foundation has been working with him since his initial diagnosis in 2017. One of its founders, Chevaughn Joseph (no relation), also confirmed that Triston’s family applied to the Children’s Life Fund and is awaiting approval.

Chevaughn Joseph said Triston’s situation was urgent because of his current condition, but the doctors and board of the Children’s Life Fund were “working around the clock” to ensure everything was in place so he could receive the treatment.

She said Triston had to go into remission before he could be approved for a bone-marrow transplant, and the medication he needed to help him achieve that was very expensive.

Chevaughn Joseph said Triston’s was a “real case, a truthful case and an urgent case.”

Anyone wishing to contribute can contact the family at 362-9915 or 741-7627. People can also visit the FundMe TnT page at https://fundmetnt.com/campaign/help-triston-caleb-ramchan-fight-against-leukemia or deposit to Republic Bank account 440111831732.