huey sepulveda, grade 6 ateneo student, with leukemia needs your help

i have a son who studies at the ateneo de manila grade school and i am a member of a yahoogroup for the parents of the grade of my son.

 the yahoogroup first got to know about what happened to a batchmate of my son, huey sepulveda some months back. huey had to stop schooling after grade 4 as he was found to have leukemia because his body no longer has the strength to do so.

 in recent weeks we heard about huey again and this time things seemed to have turned to the more difficult for him. the members of the yahoogroup sent prayers, encouragement and all the love we can muster  for huey, his mom, dad and family. 

 i am publishing this email sent by huey’s mom, fides to the yahoogroup (with permission from fides) for the ateneo community to read and others who go to this blog to share the road huey and his family are now travelling.

 i am asking the ateneo community and those who are reading this to help huey and his family through prayers, encouragement or financial help for this young 12 year old boy.

 just this morning, i was sent an urgent text coming  from tom, huey’s dad:

I need blood donors type O because my son’s platelet is very, very low. He is bleeding. Please send blood donor to UERM blood bank and tell them it is for Julio Alfonso Sepulveda. I badly need your help. Thanks.

if you can help in any way – prayers, encouragement, financial help and this very urgent request for blood donors, please do so.  thank you.

my family’s prayers go for huey and his family.

email from fides, huey’s mom to the yahoogroup:

It is 11 pm now, watching Huey in deep sleep, and I am having my moments.  I needed someone to cry to at this time of the night.  And I thought of writing you… finally.   

 

It has been 1 week and 4 days since I brought Huey to the hospital by ambulance due to severe pain.  Since then, he has just been on bed.  And as I write this, I am beginning to miss the sprightly Huey that I am used to – walking freely around the house, playing his gadgets carelessly, eating his favorite foods heartily, talking with his big husky voice endlessly. 

 

Now, he sleeps more than he is awake.  He gets up to recline on the bed with much help.  We try to get him back to play his video games (his source of fun) by propping him up in his wheelchair, thinking that it might energize him. 

 

In the beginning, he managed to play but only for a measly hour or so.   The pain overtakes him, he would give it up to rest and sleep.  He has lost his hearty appetite too.  No more of the usual order list from him as I did a few groceries in the afternoon today. 

 

However the leukemia may be taking its toll on Huey physically, his mind remains alert and his spirit, positive.  Huey is not the complaining type, he tolerates as much pain as he could.  He is still the sweet Huey who says “Good night, I love you” with a bear hug.     

 

As of Feb 1, his blood profile showed that his bone marrow is producing 100% leukemic cells. It has spread so fast that by Feb 12, his peripheral veins are now 80% leukemic cells already.  He is under pain management program taking in morphine and other pain killers under a dosage that he is still arousable and with pain that he can manage.   He has recurrent fever ( at least twice a day), due to malignancy of his leukemia.  He’s had platelets transfusion twice in a week.  It is going to be like this in the next days or weeks to come – pain killing and blood transfusion – until the final call comes. 

 

When he wakes up, it is almost like a big reunion for the 4 of us.  We savor the time as if it is our last time together as a complete family.   

 

This has long been overdue but please allow me to thank you all for your prayers, love, time, attention, and financial support for Huey and our family.  To think that Huey has stopped schooling in Ateneo in Grade 4.  As Vxxx  would always remind me, this is the Ateneo way… and so I thought of writing you my pain as a parent because I know you are with me in this. 

 

Thank you to your angels too – your sons, who will surely become like you – parents for others. 

 

Good night!  Time to hug Huey in his sleep….

 

Sincerely yours,

Fides