‘It was unbearable and terrifying’
The scars on his body tell the tale of his battle with cancer.
14-year-old Jarenn Foo was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in August 2009 after his teacher pointed out he was unnaturally pale.
The condition is one where malignant, immature white blood cells continuously multiply and are overproduced in the bone marrow, causing damage and possible death by crowding out the normal cells.
What followed was a series of treatments that were at times "unbearable” and “terrifying”, recounts the initially-shy, bespectacled boy.
Jarenn has since overcome several life-threatening conditions and, with the worst over, is now receiving outpatient treatment.
But no matter how dark or desperate circumstances were, never ever once did he complain, his father and primary caregiver, Zaric Foo, 46, states proudly.
The Foo family – Foo, his wife Maria Lim, 44, and their two children Jarenn and Marlyn, 13 – recently shared their experience in dealing with cancer in a one-hour interview with Yahoo! Singapore at their HDB home.
Foo explains that when Jarenn was undergoing the third stage of his treatment against cancer, where he was receiving stronger doses of medication, his immunity system was very low. As such, he was easily prone to infection.
One of Jarenn’s most harrowing experiences was a potentially fatal lung infection he contracted last June. He was warded for 50 days and needed blood transfusions.
Jarenn’s condition was so precarious that his father, for the first time, allowed friends and family to visit his son in case he succumbed to the infection.
The young feisty survivor pulled through but faced another setback a few months later when a blood infection caused by bacteria ate away a large chunk of flesh on his right leg.
It started out as a lump the size of a mosquito bite on a Saturday and grew into an egg-sized lump on Sunday morning. By Monday, there were blisters all over his leg.
When doctors operated on the wound, they found the skin all dead, recalled Foo. The nerves, muscle tissues were all destroyed, leaving behind bone.
The bacteria also attacked Jarenn’s left leg and right arm, but thankfully doctors only found “dead fats” when they operated on those areas, he adds.
“I was so shocked, so lost,” says Foo, when he first saw Jarenn’s bandaged leg.
Jarenn, who now uses a walking frame, was warded for 71 days.
“When I woke up (after the surgery), I could see my mother crying,” recalls Jarenn, who grew chattier as he warmed up to this interviewer.
Talking about dying
Death was an eventuality the family was always prepared for and it was a topic they talked openly about. When Jarenn was first diagnosed, he asked if he could die.
“Yes,” was his father's honest answer.
“I like to face the facts,” explains Foo on his approach. “(But) of course, it was painful to have this happen to us.”
Especially hard were the times when Jarenn was suffering in pain from the treatments and he and his wife could do nothing but look on helplessly, he says.
The good moments were when Jarenn was able to eat well and play, they say. “When he is happy, I don’t think negatively,” says Foo.
The couple, who have witnessed children die from cancer, say the last two years have changed their perspective on life.
The uncertainty of the future spurs them to treasure each moment and take steps to make sure Jarenn is happy.
This includes eating the types of food he loves, as they reveal just how much of a foodie Jarenn is.
Foo says, “We learnt a lot during these two years. We would not say we’ve suffered. We find life more meaningful nowadays.”
When he first stopped work to be a full-time caregiver, he was worried about what people would think.
“Then I thought, “Why should I bother how people think? That’s not important”,” he says.
He proudly proclaims that he is now like an “auntie”, carrying a big bag with Jarenn’s notes and medicine when they are at the hospital.
On his hopes for the future, Foo says, “We want to see him (Jarenn) independent, grow up like other children. (We will) let him do what he wants to do. “
Jarenn, who is in the maintenance stage of his treatment, has six months to go before he “graduates”. He returned to school in March this year.
The boy says he feels “relaxed” and looks forward to eventually going out with his friends after school without his walking frame.
Father and son have both taken part in the Children’s Cancer Foundation’s Hair for Hope event where they went bald to raise awareness on children with cancer and raise funds for them.
They understand best the costs involved in treating cancer. The bills for Jarenn’s treatment have run up to about $400,000 and the family is thankful their insurance has picked up the bulk of the fees.
To other children with cancer, Jarenn says, “Live life as normal, enjoy every minute you have.”
To support the Yahoo! Purple Hope initiative, go here.
A message from CCF:
Dear Yahoo! readers,
Thank you for your concern, encouragement and support for CCF’s children and their families. We truly appreciate your generous giving to CCF through Yahoo! Purple Hope.
We are grateful to our beneficiaries for consenting to share their stories.The intention is to help raise awareness of childhood cancer and not to garner donations for the individual families. Annually, CCF helps more than 500 children and their families, many of whom are in the same plight as those featured here.
The donations raised through Yahoo! Purple Hope will allow CCF to continue providing critical services to help these children and their families cope with their needs at various stages of their illness.
For any further enquiries, please email to admin@ccf.org.sg or contact Tan Lay Eng/ Koh Yang Cheng at 6593 6478/70.
May our joint efforts assist the children in winning the battle against childhood cancer.
Children’s Cancer Foundation
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