Our daughter, Mahiyaa Bala J, was usually a bubbly and vivacious child a diva to many and loved by everyone. At the end of May, over the weekend, I noticed she seemed tired and unusually uninterested in her favorite activities or the weekend itself. I assumed she might just be exhausted from her busy schedule of online classes during the MCO. However, within the next three days, she developed a fever. As parents, we felt something wasn’t right. Following our usual practice, we immediately brought her to the ER. At that time, we were primarily concerned about ensuring her fever wasn’t due to the Covid-19 virus.
The medical officer (MO) on duty ordered a blood test for her. Shortly after the first blood test, a nurse came and informed us they needed to conduct another test as the previous results were unclear. This surprised us, but we complied, and another blood test was conducted. An hour later, the MO informed us that Mahiyaa needed to be admitted as her blood results were concerning. He referred us to a pediatric specialist and forwarded the blood reports to a hematologist. We were shocked to learn that her blood readings were unstable, with her white blood cell (WBC) count over 1040 million when the normal range is only between 5-11.
Due to the MCO, only one parent was allowed to stay with her, and I decided to stay. After completing a Covid-19 PCR test, we were admitted to the observation ward. Only God knows how many medical websites I browsed that night, trying to understand what might be causing her unusual WBC count. Most of the results pointed to Hepatitis B or leukemia. My maternal instinct told me something was seriously wrong, and I couldn’t shake the fear that this wasn’t just paranoia. The more I read, the sicker I felt. I don’t know how I made it through that night.
The next morning, the hematologist came with devastating news—our princess most likely had leukemia. However, they needed a bone marrow biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.
"Can you imagine what it’s like to hear those words come out of a doctor’s mouth?"
As a mother, I tried to remain calm, but internally, I was shattered. I never imagined that a healthy, breastfed child—who had excellent prenatal care and never missed her vaccinations or routine check-ups—could suddenly have cancer at the age of 5 years and 7 months. It felt like my world had collapsed beneath my feet.
While the doctor asked me questions about her symptoms and our family’s health history, I stayed composed in front of Mahiyaa. She had no prior symptoms like bruising, frequent fevers, or bleeding, aside from this fever, which was her first in over a year.
Having spent more than eight hours surfing the internet, I was somewhat prepared for the diagnosis, even though it was incredibly difficult to accept. One small relief was learning that with proper treatment, the outlook for children and teens with leukemia is generally positive.
I called my husband to share the diagnosis. I tried my hardest to hold back my tears and fears. Somehow, I managed to deliver the news. We were both silent. In that moment, we thought we could suppress our emotions, but only God knows the pain we felt in those few minutes without saying a word. I knew he was breaking on the other end of the line.
❤️❤️❤️❤️😔
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