Ever since he was a little boy, Dani had always wanted to visit a waterpark with his family. Before he had a chance though, he was diagnosed with a rare kidney cancer. He was only eight years old.
When first visited by Nurse Yuni from Rachel House, Dani was silent and withdrawn, spending most of his days in bed. Dani was in constant in agony due to the tumor that continued to grow in his stomach despite chemotherapy.
It became clear that he was not receiving the right dosage of pain medication. His caregivers had not been trained to administer the medications, a common problem. Nurse Yuni dedicated her time to educating Dani’s mother on how to administer the medications on her regular visits to Dani’s home and made herself available by phone to the family. Over the next number of weeks Dani’s pain eased and his spirit lifted.
This was not the end of Dani’s problems as his pain medications soon ran low. A new prescription would require a return visit to his oncologist. Unfortunately, however, his father had been unable to find work as a labourer. Paying for the trip to the hospital was unthinkable for his family who, by that point, had to borrow money from their neighbours just to put food on the table.
Without the medication, Dani would once again spend his days in agonising pain. Thanks to the generosity of Rachel House supporters, we were able to support Dani and his family to get to his medical appointment. Over the following days, his mother was overjoyed to see her son slowly returning to his old cheerful self.
When Dani was feeling better, he finally confided to Yuni his secret wish: “I want to go to a waterpark and go down the slide with my mom”, he whispered, with a small smile on his lips and a hopeful glint in his eyes. He had never been to a waterpark before.
Yuni and the Rachel House team rallied support from donors and soon after, Dani had his wish granted and journeyed to Waterland Metland in Cakung, with his mother. The smile on his face – at being in the waterpark with his mum, free from pain – said it all.
Dani was living with joy, playing carefree with his family, like every child should.
