11-y-o needs US$1-million surgery

September 01, 2021
Shakeira Robinson and her son Damion Blackstock.
Shakeira Robinson and her son Damion Blackstock.
Damion Blackstock
Damion Blackstock
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Shakeira Robinson's 11-year-old son has one wish, to cuddle with his mother again.

Her son, Damion Blackstock, a grade five student at Denbigh Primary School in Clarendon, has been batting acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and has been hospitalised since June.

"He's very sick at the moment ... very, very sick. He's not responding to any of the treatment. He told me he had one wish. He said he wish he could come home and sleep with me one more night and cuddle with me," she said of the child, who was diagnosed with the cancer in June 2020. Damion needs an urgent surgery which carries a hefty US$1 million price tag. The surgery is to be done overseas.

AML is a type of blood cancer where excess immature white blood cells or myeloid line of blood-forming cells are made by the bone marrow. The cancer is characterised by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood, interfering with normal blood cell production. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, easy bruising and bleeding, and increased risk of infection. Given its rapid progression, AML is typically fatal within weeks or months if left untreated.

I don't deserve this

"Sometimes he says, 'Mommy, why I am going through this? I don't deserve this, I am tired. I can't do this anymore.' I have to keep telling him to fight. I have to remind him every day that if God wanted to take him, He would have taken him from that night I bring him to the hospital 'cause his blood count was at four," said the distressed mother.

Robinson told THE STAR that she first realised something was wrong with her son when he started having sores on his mouth. She said she began treating them with over the counter products, as she was not cognisant they were signs of a more grave issue. She said after he began bleeding profusely one night, she rushed him to the hospital.

"I rushed him to the May Pen Hospital that night and the doctors said they were 99 per cent sure he had leukemia, but they weren't sure what type of leukemia," she said. Robinson said her son was transferred to the Bustamante Hospital for Children the following day, where it was confirmed that Damion had AML.

Robinson, who operates a bar, said she was forced to close her business to care for her son, adding that the pandemic has also dwindled her sales. The mother, who also has a one-year-old, said life has been been a roller coaster, as the baby will also require surgery soon for a stomach condition.

Anyone who wishes to assist Robinson may contact her at 876-259-0038 or donate to the following bank accounts: VMBS, May Pen branch, in the name of Shakeira Robinson, account #400821872 or NCB, May Pen branch, in the name of Keith Hanson, account #564649198.

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