Erielle’s journey: One family’s fight to save their cancer-stricken child

One of the worst things that can befall a family, big or small, wealthy or destitute, is a serious illness. It's certain to sap time, energy, money, and hope from all persons involved, especially if the invalid is a child.

This is exactly the situation that befell the Cerbito family when only child Erielle fell ill.

No money, no treatment

Born in 2002 to parents Randy and Nora, Erielle was in the second grade when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. At first they thought she just had a fever, but soon Erielle was no longer able to walk. Nora rushed her to a center, where the medical personnel quickly ruled out dengue but declared that Erielle needed a blood transfusion.

Nora and Randy rushed their daughter to four hospitals, none of which could not determine what plagued Erielle. They also had the problem of not being able to pay a down payment for Erielle's treatment—the family were living on Randy's meager income as an MMDA traffic enforcer.

After Nora was able to use her sister's money for the down payment, Erielle was finally given a blood transfusion at Alabang Medical Center, the fourth hospital—but that was not the end of their troubles. Doctors told the worried parents that Erielle would have to be transferred to the Philippine Children's Medical Center, for they also could not determine her illness.

After a tussle with the doctors about bringing Erielle to the PCMC in an ambulance—which was P5,000 to P6,000 that the Cerbitos did not have—Randy and Nora wrapped their daughter in a blanket and they rode from Alabang to Quezon City on Randy's motorcycle.

Help at last

It was at the PCMC, after a harrowing bone marrow test during which they felt weak just watching their daughter suffer, that they would find out about Erielle's cancer.

The Cerbitos would at first refuse to allow the doctors to administer chemotherapy, admitting to not knowing much about the therapy and also being upfront with their finances. Only when the doctor told Nora, “Mommy, huwag kang mag-alala, tutulungan ka namin,” did they finally agree to the chemo.

And when they approached the hospital's Department of Social Welfare and Development booth, she could not help but cry when the staffer told her, “Nanay, huwag kang mag-alala at tutulungan kita.”

Erielle was strong enough to walk after her first chemo session. She continued these until she grew strong enough to leave the hospital and become an outpatient, returning only for another chemo session.

This would last for three years, during which the hospital would become their second home.

More troubles ahead

So followed for the anxious parents many days and nights of worrying, of pawning jewelry and borrowing money from co-workers, of searching for a foundation that could help them shoulder the financial burden, of lining up for days outside government offices waiting for referrals, of eating only chichirya for ulam when there was any to be had, of Randy himself developing hypertension.

Once, they had to brave a storm on Randy's motorcycle in order to take Erielle to the hospital in Quezon City from their house in Las Piñas. Nora could only wrap her daughter in a blanket to keep the rain off and pray for a safe journey. Her tears mixed with the rain.

The family spent two Christmases and two New Years at Randy's workplace, as he had to be on duty at the time and that was the only way they could all be together for the holidays.

The family also had to deal with a problem neighbor who kept coming into their house and wrecking their belongings. Not even calling the police on him helped. It came to the point that Nora had to brandish a bolo at him. Only a temporary restraining order was finally able to keep that neighbor away from them.

Sometimes, the couple would attend events hosted by a foundation for cancer patients. Once, they stood at a meeting place hours into the night, passersby handing them transportation fare. It turned out that their designated driver was delayed because he was still trying to earn gas money.

And another time, a foundation accompanied the couple to a church, where they simultaneously prayed and cried. They were not regular church-goers, but that didn't mean that they didn't pray.

'Better than winning the lotto'

But during those hard three years, they were not without help or hope. Many strangers would come up to them and help pay for Erielle's medical fees.

For example, in December 2013, the doctor told the couple to start saving up, as they would put Erielle through the P30,000 lab test that would determine if she was cancer-free.

They managed, with the help of friends and generous donations.

And finally, Erielle was declared cancer-free.

The couple said that this piece of news was better than winning the lottery. However, she needed a checkup every three months—these checkups cost P12,000 each.

During a September 2014 checkup, someone texted Nora, “Mam, kami na magbabayad ng bone marrow niya.” She met the people who worked on behalf of the mysterious texter shortly after at the hospital and could not thank them enough.

Aftermath

Erielle managed to continue her schooling after gaining outpatient status. Being a bright girl, she managed to finish second grade despite her illness. When enrolling for the next school year, the third grade teacher who took her in must have felt a kind of kinship with her, being a cancer survivor as well.

In the fourth grade, where Erielle currently stands, she experienced discrimination from first the teachers—who thought she was still gravely ill—and her classmates, who thought that she was contagious. They were unaware that she was more likely to catch something from them.

Erielle attends school wearing a mask, as such. Her classmates, not understanding her situation, often bully her for the mask. Once, a child threatened to punch her; luckily, a teacher saw and put a top to it.

“Bakit laging nakatingin sa akin ang mga bata?” is Erielle’s most frequent question.

Nora used to wait for Erielle all day during her first month in grade four. She has since loosened up, confining her role to picking Erielle up and bringing her home.

Erielle remains cancer-free, although she still needs five continuous years of laboratory tests and bone marrow tests. Her hair, which used to be long before Randy shaved it off as the chemo progressed, is growing again.

Due to her strength and courage, her family's perseverance, and the generosity of others, Erielle is doing well. In its episode on Saturday, GMA's "Magpakailanman" chronicles the hardships the Cerbito family went through, the help they received, and the hope that buoyed them. — Vida Cruz/BM, GMA News

Catch the Cerbito family's story on "Magpakailanman" this Saturday, January 31.

Photos of Randy, Nora and Erielle Cerbito courtesy of the Cerbito family

Behind the scenes photo courtesy of Magpakailanman