Mom’s Christmas wish is for son to get cancer treatment

If Jhenelle Burgher had one wish this Christmas, it would be to acquire $16.8 million (approximately US$108,250) required to have her only child undergo life-saving bone marrow transplant surgery.

Her nine-year-old son, Malachi Fenton, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia on December 13, dampening the festivities for the Yuletide season.

"I don't even know if I have tears left to cry. When they told me he has cancer, it's like all now I can't process it. His father is as devastated as I am because when they tell him the news, it's like, you know, you don't want to see your child like that. He [Malachi] hasn't seen his father for eight years. His father just came in late October, and he took sick in November, and I am not even sure if they are going to let him come home for Christmas," Burgher told the news team.

Burgher, a resident of Nannyville Gardens, St Andrew, related that on November 22, her son's teacher told her that he was feeling ill.

"I told the doctor that his belly was hurting, and he was vomiting, and I think he picked up a bug. The doctor said he would run a blood test to see what was happening, but I didn't think nothing would come out of it," she said. But the doctor called with concerning news. Malachi's white blood cell level was more than four times the normal amount. He was admitted to hospital on November 23, and a day later, the doctor said his spleen was enlarged.

Burgher, who is employed as a health records technician at the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC), noted further that other tests could not indicate her son's illness.

"We did a blood test, which took two weeks and the results at our [BHC] lab said that they are seeing 30 per cent atypical cells, and they were kind of worried that it could be cancer, but they were waiting because it could be an infection," she said. "They were awaiting confirmation from a doctor at the National Public Health Lab to say if it was cancer or not, and in December, she called and said she is seeing something like the child has chronic myeloid leukaemia. She said this cancer was normally seen in adults, not children."

Malachi has already received one round of chemotherapy but doctors, however, have informed Burgher that due to the rarity of the disease, a bone marrow transplant is recommended. They have sought to have Malachi admitted to hospitals overseas for treatment. He has been accepted to the Apollo Hospital in India, but Burgher needs the money to cover medical expenses.

"This is shocking to me, and I can't believe that this child, he is not showing any signs or symptoms. He wasn't sick, it was just instincts that told me to do the blood test. He is an active child and even when his belly was hurting, he was still up and down," she said. Burgher said that her son, who hopes to become a paediatrician, reads his Bible daily and has faith that he will be healed. She recalled the day she told Malachi that he had cancer.

"He knows a little about cancer and he asked if it's the sickness that [causes] people's hair to fall out and I told him yes. I asked him if he was worried and he said no, God will heal him, and from that I feel different because he is saying that he will fight the sickness and he is nine years old. So if he is willing to fight, I have to be strong for him," the worried mother expressed.

She stressed that although Malachi may have to spend the holidays in hospital, she does not mind bringing the Christmas cheer to him.

"He is not on chemo; he is not getting any treatment at all, but that money is hard to find. I am getting help from Bustamante Hospital, but it is the season for giving. So if you could give a little of what you have, I would be appreciative; it would be my Christmas wish," Burgher said.

Persons wishing to donate to offset the cost of Malachi Fearon's treatment, can visit his GoFundMe accoun t: https://gofund.me/649a5240