7-year-old boy who was burned in house fire uses banana leaves to ease pain

A 7-year-old boy who was burned in a house fire has been using banana leaves to ease the pain caused by his wounds.

In a “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” episode, his mother Lovely shared that Alvin’s wounds bled and hurt whenever they came into contact with surfaces, like a bed sheet.

His wounds are so severe that he can’t do anything else except lie down.

To remedy this, she would cover his entire body with banana leaves so his wounds wouldn’t touch the cloth.

Accident

Almost all of Alvin’s body was burned when a fire razed their house in Allen, Northern Samar last August 14.

Alvin and his 4-year old sister Angelien were asleep when their curtain caught fire from a gas lamp.

“Na-trap na kami. Nasunog na si Angelien. Sinubukan kong umalis pero nasunog na rin ako (We were trapped. Angelien was burned. I tried to leave but I got burned too),” said Alvin.

Alvin was lucky to have escaped. Angelien, sadly, perished in the fire.

“Palagi kaming naglalaro, kumakain. Kinakarga ko siya. Mahal na mahal ko si Angelien (We always played together. I carried her around. I love Angelien so much).”

When the fire happened, their father was in Sorsogon, working as a security guard. Their mother was at the port, where she sold goods.

In tears, Lovely expressed how heartbroken she was over the loss of her daughter. She hoped Angelien was at peace in heaven.

Allan, the children’s father, rushed to go back to Samar when he found out what happened. However, he still had to stay at a quarantine facility before he could go to his family.

“Parang sinasaksak yung dibdib ko ’pag tuwing humihingi ng tulong yung anak ko wala akong maibigay (It felt like I’m being stabbed in the chest whenever my child would ask for help and I couldn’t do anything),” he said.

As Allan stayed at the facility, Lovely assisted Alvin at the hospital and arranged Angelien’s funeral.

“Napakahirap. Masakit. Sana ako na lang dun sa kanya para maghirap. Tuwing titingin ako napakasakit kasi sigaw nang sigaw (It’s hard. It’s painful. I wish we could switch places so I could bear the pain. Every time I look at Alvin, it hurts me because he’s always screaming),” she said.

Lovely said Alvin’s wounds hurt so much that whenever the medicine rubbed off, Alvin would scream out loud due to the pain, to the point where other people would look at them to see what was going on.

Treatment

A physician they consulted, Dr. Remie, told them Alvin’s wounds were severe and his foot had to be cut off to prevent an infection.

Hoping for a better way, Lovely and Alvin traveled for five hours from Catarman to Tacloban to get a second opinion.

Upon seeing Alvin’s wounds, however, the doctors in Tacloban also said there was no other way to save his foot.

Alvin also underwent debriefing, where child psychologist Marsha Triste- Molina revealed that the boy experienced trauma, physically and emotionally.

Since Alvin was very close to Angelien, the psychologist recommended that he undergo early intervention and therapy so he could deal with the loss better, especially as he grew up.

To give him courage, Alvin had a video call with his father, the first time they saw each other after the heartbreaking incident. Allan said he’s scheduled to come out of the facility next week.

Alvin badly needed an operation, but Lovely said it was too expensive.

“Para sa mga may magandang loob, puso, sana po tulungan niyo po iyong anak ko. Nandito po sa ospital, hihirap. Iba pong kalagayan. Hirap na hirap po. Kailangan niya po ng gamot. Sana po ... tulungan niyo po ang anak ko (To those with kind hearts, please help my child. He’s here at the hospital, in pain. He’s in a difficult condition. He’s suffering so much. He needs medicine. I hope you can help my child),” said Lovely.

Alvin only wished to walk again so he could visit his sister’s grave.

“Gusto kong puntahan si Angelien sa sementeryo, dadalhan ko siya ng laruan at pagkain at bulaklak (I want to visit Angelien in the cemetery and bring her toys and food and flowers),” said the 7-year old boy.

Just yesterday, Alvin underwent the operation and their father was also able to leave the quarantine facility.

For those who want to help Alvin and his family, please deposit to:

ACCOUNT NAME: Allan N. Jablese

ACCOUNT NUMBER: 3996-0245-54

BANK/BRANCH: Landbank Allen Branch

— Kaela Malig/RC/LA, GMA News