Pinoy parents in KSA seek over P10M to save sick child

A Filipino expatriate couple in Saudi Arabia is appealing to the public for help for their 12-year-old son who is suffering from leukemia. According to a report of Arab News, John Andrew Jacinto, born in Riyadh, was diagnosed with leukemia in March 2010 and needs a bone marrow transplant that will cost SR900,000 (P10.364 million). “It is heartbreaking to see our son patiently waiting, praying and wishing that God sends him good Samaritans to come to his rescue," said his mother Elenita, a Filipino nurse at the Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Riyadh. The report said more than SR500,000 (P5.758 million) had been spent on John’s treatment and his insurance coverage ended last month. She said John has been absent from school due to his illness. Elenita, who has four other children, said a charity group shouldered the cost of her son's treatment from March to May this year. “Our worry now is what happens when that is over? We have to raise money to keep his chemotherapy going uninterrupted to prevent him from relapsing," Elenita said. “If he relapses, the chances of remission will be minimal according to his doctors. We are stretched to the limit and I am pleading to those compassionate and generous people to help our son beat this disease," she added. The Arab News report said the prognosis for John is good, with a more than 80-percent chance of survival as he is young. His younger sister is a full-match donor. His parents hope that the transplant can be done at the King Fahd National Guard Hospital where he is currently being treated. - VVP, GMA News