July 10 was the day the King of Comedy Dolphy passed away. Unknown to many, a seven-year-old boy, Rhomiel, passed on after suffering from a tumor on his leg.
Rhomiel was thin to the bones as he laid on a makeshift bench built by his father. It was the only thing comfortable enough for him to use. He could no longer sit up nor lay down without excruciating pain caused by the tumor on his thigh pressing against his groin.
It’s been seven months only since the tumor was first detected, and it expanded like a balloon to a size of a watermelon.
Marlon and Rochelle Lucas, the parents of Rhomiel, went to doctors to have him checked and were advised that Rhomiel would need to undergo chemotherapy. Marlon and Rochelle were averse to chemotherapy because of the effects of chemo. Add to the fact that his father, a security guard, could not afford the treatment. Instead, they tried alternative medicine, but that didn’t work.
Our team in Lingkod Kapamilya learned about Rhomiel’s condition through a certain engineer who worked in a construction site near their house in Taguig. He e-mailed us asking to help the boy.
I was worried when I saw Rhomiel. He was malnourished, like the children in areas with famine.
That meant it would take more time before he could undergo any procedure. I was not sure if he had that liberty.
Trying to lighten up the boy, I told him to eat plenty of rice for him to gain weight. He was stoic, but when I told him to smile, he obliged. His smile required some effort but I felt it was real.
I told him not to worry because we will help and pray for him, but I made him promise that he needed to help himself. He nodded.
Soon after, we brought him to the Philippine Orthopedic Center. I could not forget the look on the doctor’s face, as if saying that it was too late. “It looks like we need to amputate the leg, but first we need to work on his nutrition.”
Rhomiel was unmoved with the news, as if he was already expecting it. His father, Marlon, explained, “We already told him about it, and he’s OK with it, if it will save his life.”
I looked at Rhomiel and asked, “You’re OK with the amputation?”
He was very sure, “Opo.”
The doctors ordered that tests be done immediately. As he was being wheeled into the Radiology area, Rhomiel kept looking for his parents. He wanted them to be on his side. He was that little boy again, hanging on to his parents for assurance.
A CT Scan was difficult enough for Rhomiel because he needed to be transferred and moved in different positions. Often he would cry because the slightest movement hurt, hence, he needed pillows to cushion the pressure. Regardless of the inconvenience, he went through with the procedure anyway.
Weeks later, we were informed that the doctors were proceeding with the operation. Rhomiel’s tumor grew so big that he could no longer lift his hip. His parents were informed by the doctors that Rhomiel had a 50-50 chance of survival, and they took their chances. Either way, Rhomiel was going to die if the leg was not removed.
“We wanted to give him that chance to live,” Rochelle recalled.
The 10-hour operation proceeded the morning of June 10. And at five in the afternoon, Rhomiel’s body had expired.
“In 15 minutes, his leg would have been fully amputated, but his heart gave in,” said Rochelle.
We all knew of the risks of Rhomiel’s operation but we hung on to hope that all will be well. Even the parents said that Rhomiel showed no sign of fear.
“For the first time, when he was transferred to the stretcher, there were no pillows, but he did not cry,” said Marlon.
Father and son were even making plans to go to the mall once Rhomiel recovers from the operation.
During the wake, their home was enveloped by sadness despite the absence of tears.
“I ran out of tears,” his mother said.
When I approached the coffin, I was preparing myself to find a boy’s body that has suffered much. I did not recognize Rhomiel. He gained so much weight, far from the sickly child that I last saw.
Rochelle recalled the time they were in the hospital, “Even late at night he would ask for rice.”
I never met Rhomiel before he fell ill, and looking into the coffin was like meeting him again for the first time. There he was, resembling the boy in the framed photograph on the coffin — Rhomiel with a big grin.
On behalf of the Lucas family, thank you very much to those who extended help and prayed for Rhomiel and his family.
(E-mail me at nagmamahalateb2@yahoo.com.)