Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
FOR five-year-old Aidan Mbofana, childhood had begun to look normal again for the past two years.
After enduring chemotherapy and the frightening reality of blood cancer, the bubbly kindergarten learner had finally been given something every child deserves, the chance to simply be a child.
He was back among his peers at kindergarten. He was laughing again and playing with his siblings.
And, perhaps most importantly to a little boy with seemingly endless energy, he was enjoying athletics, according to his father, Mr Simon Mbofana.
For two years, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, commonly known as blood cancer, appeared to have retreated from his young life.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mr Mbofana, said during that period of the cancer’s remission, he and his wife would watch their son run and play without constantly wondering whether another hospital admission was around the corner.
However, the joy did not last as in June, the parents were informed that the cancer had resurfaced again, leaving them with no option, but to race against time to save little Aidan’s life.
On Tuesday, Aidan was discharged from Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare, where he has been receiving treatment.
“The oncologists said his body is now resisting the treatment, and they do not have a second line of treatment for his cancer,” he said.
His father said doctors told them that the medication Aidan is currently receiving is no longer working as his body has developed resistance to it.
“The only hope now, is an urgent bone marrow transplant. We have been given only two weeks to raise the money and take our child to India.
“The doctors told us that it is very urgent. They said the medication he is currently taking is no longer working because his body has developed resistance to it,” said Mr Mbofana.
He said for a family that has already spent years battling cancer, the news has brought back the fear they had hoped they had left behind.
Little Aidan’s ordeal began in February 2024 when he started complaining of pain in his left leg.
“At first, we had no reason to believe we were facing a battle that would consume the next years of our lives. We took him to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital, where we were told that he could be suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. He was given medication, but the pain persisted. Instead, it spread. Soon, both legs were hurting,” he said.
The once-active child became increasingly withdrawn and sluggish.
“He was always sleeping and no longer wanted to eat. We were advised to take him to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitaks because there are more specialist doctors there,” recalled Mr Mbofana.
The trip to Harare would change everything.
Doctors at Parirenyatwa diagnosed Aidan with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
“The diagnosis was devastating to us, but we were happy that they now knew what was wrong with him and that he would get the help he needed to get better. Chemotherapy followed, it was gruelling, but it worked.
“The cancer went into remission, giving us two precious years in which Aidan led a normal childhood. He started going to kindergarten with other children. He was enjoying himself. He was playing with his siblings and he was very much into sports,” said the father.
Aidan, Mr Mbofana said, is not the kind of child who quietly sits in a corner.
“He is a cheerful boy. He is always laughing. He is a loving boy and very energetic. He is athletic and loves sports. He participates at crèche, and at home he is always with his siblings playing and bubbly,” he said. That is the Aidan Mr Mbofana wants people to know, not simply as a child battling cancer, but as a five-year-old boy who wants to run, play, laugh and grow up.
However, in June, the family’s world was shaken again when Aidan was bedridden.
They returned to Parirenyatwa and they were told that the cancer had relapsed.
“We are now racing against time because the relapse has been particularly difficult on Aidan. This is because Aidan himself is old enough to realise that something is wrong, but too young to understand why his childhood has become a cycle of hospitals, medicines and procedures. He is always questioning us why he is always in hospitals and why he has to take medication all the time. He does not even understand what is happening. It is very hard,” said his father.
For his mother, the pain has become almost unbearable.
She cries because she knows her son is suffering, but Aidan does not understand why the person he looks to for comfort is also struggling to contain her own emotions.
“His mother cries out of pain and this confuses the child on why his mother is always crying, not knowing that she is crying for him. It is a sad situation,” said Mr Mbofana. The family has also had to contend with the enormous financial burden that comes with treating a child with cancer.
During Aidan’s chemotherapy, his parents sometimes spent about US$900 a month on some of the medicines alone, excluding other drugs and hospital-related expenses.
The family was referred to an Indian hospital for an urgent bone marrow transplant and they have been quoted about US$41 500 for the bone marrow transplant, excluding travel and accommodation costs.
A quotation they received from South Africa was far beyond their reach, at about US$400 000.
“India therefore represents the most financially viable option, but even that option remains painfully expensive. The US$41 500 is very expensive for us. As a family, we have managed to raise at least US$5 000, but we are appealing to Zimbabweans and anyone who can help us,” said Mr Mbofana.
The figure may seem enormous, but for Aidan’s family it represents something much more important than money.
It represents a chance.
“It is a chance for our little boy to a healthy life,” he said.
Mr Mbofana said the family does not want to wait until the cancer progresses further.
“Our greatest hope is for our boy to get better so that he becomes just like any other healthy boy out there. Aidan is a cheerful boy, always laughing. Had I brought him, he would have been laughing with you as we speak,” he said.
Mr Mbofana appealed to any well-wishers to help him raise the wanted amount for his son’s lifesaving operation.
“I am appealing to anyone that is able to lend a helping hand funds permitting. Please help me help my son. He is supposed to have an urgent bone marrow transplant. As parents, we are now desperate and do not know what to do, we have raised US$5000 as a family but there is still a huge gap because US$41 500 is a huge amount to raise. We just want to see our boy healthy again,” Mr Mbofana said.
Those wishing to support Aidan’s treatment can contribute through the following channels:
GoFundMe link: https://gofund.me/17ffebcc3
Bank details:
Bank: Stanbic Bank
Account name: Simon Mbofana
Account number: 9140002729864
Branch: Mutare
EcoCash/Innbucks: +263772535278
Account holder: Auxilia Tanyaradzwa Mbofana
