By Nitiayne Mille Takemoto | Project Leader
Miguel is a 3 year old brazilian boy and he has lived in Japan since he was one year old. The joys of his routine in the land of the rising sun include visiting zoo and aquarium, playing on playground, and running whenever possible. Differently from other children his age, he has overcome one of the most difficult stages of his life: he defeated a cancer. His mother is Larissa and his father is Bruno, a goal scorer in the Japanese club Cerezo Osaka. The family had other plans for 2020. Miguel was preparing to be an older brother. But the pandemic postponed the family's dream of expanding and the fear of the new Coronavirus forced them to achieve a cure for Miguel's illness. When the boy felt his abdominal swelling and the Japanese pediatrician said in Portuguese that he had cancer, Larissa and Bruno didn't want to understand it. An interpreter supports them, so they knew that blood tests confirmed cancer and the other specialists guided them to start treatment immediately. Even distressed by the diagnosis, they had to decide between staying in Japan and dealing difficulties of language or facing the limitations imposed by the pandemic to travel to Brazil, where they could be with their family. “A doctor we trust told us who told us that, given the situation, the pandemic wasn’t the priority. The best thing to do would be to return to Brazil and to take Miguel to GRAACC Hospital. We wanted our son to heal and we trusted that it would be the best decision” Larissa said.
One week after the medical appointment, Miguel was at the GRAACC Hospital, redoing the exams to confirm the diagnosis and starting treatment with chemotherapy and surgery. His family rented an apartment in São Paulo, where his grandparents also stayed to support the child's treatment. It took four months, and in three of them, the boy was unable to walk and had to use a tube, because he couldn’t eat.
“Oncologists, surgeons, nursing staff, residents, nutritionists, physiotherapists, physiotherapists, each one of them was an angel, being lovely, emotional, kind and as human as possible. Everything we wanted, we found the best of it in GRAACC, which has our deep gratitude. The days were difficult in the hospital, but thanks to them, we celebrate each month our son’s healing and we hope it will last forever”, Larissa tolded.
Miguel was discharged from treatment and now he is back on the stadium bleachers in Japan, cheering for his dad. His exams are done on the other side of the world, but the GRAACC’s medical team keeps following up carefully as this stage of treatment requires. Now, each family outing becomes even more joyful.
By Niti Takemoto | Niti Takemoto
By GRAACC | Project Leader
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