Pls help with Divit's Cancer treatment #helpdivit

Kushlani Gurusinha and Manori Pathirana are organising this fund-raiser on behalf of Yuwanthi White.

 

There is no parent on this earth that would want to hear that their child has been diagnosed with Cancer. Unfortunately for the White family, that was the shattering news they received about their first born son Divit.

 

Within the space of 24 hours a perfectly healthy boy, a student of St Peters College, studying for his o’level exams started to feel unwell. A few tests later the devastating news was received. Divit has Leukaemia!

 

In one fleeting moment our world was turned upside down.

 

Just in a matter of days his condition deteriorated rapidly. The oncologist at Lanka Hospitals conducted various tests to identify the type of Leukaemia Divit had. Within the first week, Divit had to undergo a lumbar puncture and two bone marrow tests. Bone marrow samples were sent overseas for analysis as the situation was time sensitive but no treatment could be administered until further test results were received. Whilst we were still trying to deal with the initial diagnosis, then came the shattering blow. Divit had two types of Leukaemia! Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) plus Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) which is known as Mixed-phenotype Acute Leukaemia (MPAL). This is an extremely rare and aggressive disease that affects fewer than 5% of children and adults diagnosed with leukaemia. This news was agonising. It didn’t take long for the painful reality to sink in… it was going to be a harrowing journey to save Divit’s life.

 

Since Divit was admitted to hospital, he has become weaker by the day. As Divit’s diagnosis is complex, the parents have been advised to seek a second opinion from an oncologist based in Singapore. However, given the aggressive nature of the disease he is currently undergoing chemotherapy and taking oral medications. Just the first round of chemo was at a cost of Rs1.5M (AU$10,000).  At the completion of many more rounds of chemotherapy and lumbar punctures to administer chemo, the next hurdle will be a bone marrow transplant.  Due to the complexity of the treatment required, the approximate cost for this procedure to be performed overseas is AU$380,000. Other associated costs for Divit’s treatment is estimated around AU$70,000.  Whilst this fundraiser is only covering part of the cost for ongoing treatment the balance funds are being raised in Sri Lanka through family and friends.  This is only the start of his treatment to give Divit every chance of beating this horrible disease. His mother Yuwanthi has been by his bedside and not able to work. She will need to isolate and dedicate her time to Divit who is immune compromised. Whilst Divit’s immediate family has rallied around them and covered his medical bills to date, the cost of the next phase of treatment is just too steep to manage without your help. Divit’s life depends on receiving these treatments. Every donation will be invaluable!

 

Some of you may have had the pleasure of crossing paths with this gentle human. If you ask his doting parents they will declare in one voice that Divit is a gift from God! Every child is a blessing and beautiful in their own right but this little one would do and say things that was so incomprehensible for his age. The type you would call an ‘old soul’. A child who appeared to have a deeper sense of what life was about. At around the tender age of 11 when a student bullied him in school, he sought advice from his father. In typical fatherly fashion his father Gordon got very defensive and thought it would be best to retaliate verbally. Divit went away to digest the advice and returned later to let his father know that he was not going to do anything. Why? Because the other student’s parents were going through a separation and he would be experiencing much pain and Divit didn’t want to add to that. This was at the age of 11! We could write endless instances when he quietly went about life, always soft spoken, always helping and always considerate.

 

Divit’s adoring mother Yuwanthi, my precious niece, is presently living the nightmare of helplessly watching her beautiful boy endure the harsh reality of fighting this cancer. Her every waking moment is spent in excruciating pain, and she wonders if she could pick up her boy and escape to a far away place where she could turn back the clock to the time when Divit would light up the room with his smile that reaches his soft brown eyes and dimples his cheeks. The heartbreaking treatment choices have been hard to make. Yes they have to administer treatment to destroy the cancer cells, but it could lead to blood clots. To counter that he is given blood thinning medications which could lead to a brain bleed. Feeling utterly helpless she places her faith in the medical experts and lays her precious boy in the arms of god for safe keeping.

 

The next discussion of the bone marrow transplant was a hard one as each of Divit’s three younger siblings will need to be tested for compatibility. Divit just could not accept that his brothers will need to endure this painful procedure to help him and flatly rejected the idea and it took long conversations to finally convince him to agree. Undergoing his first chemo session he was more concerned about his mother and asked her to leave the room. His only thought was to protect his mother from the emotional stress and her safety. This precious human is the rock of this family. Please, please donate and give him the only chance to beat this cancer.

 

As the parents are focussing on the long journey ahead, I have received permission to post on their behalf.

 

Please donate and help this broken family get through the darkest days of their lives. We will continue to update on his condition periodically. Also please include Divit in your prayers as we need a miracle!