Aurelia (6) from Nuremberg suffers from leukemia. The grandparents take care of the girl and her father, who has an intellectual disability. In order to be able to care for the sick girl and her father, the grandparents gave up their work and moved to Nuremberg. The family suffers from financial worries.
Little Aurelia from Nuremberg has leukemia. A tumor had to be removed from her last year. But her cancer is by no means over. The six-year-old girl has since had to undergo chemotherapy.
For over a year she has had to take pills against the cancer cells every day. “There are days when she feels very bad and throws up very badly,” explains Aurelia’s grandmother Christina Stancu inFranken.de.
The 42-year-old and her husband raise their granddaughter like a daughter. Her birth mother left Aurelia when she was four months old. Aurelia’s father, Christina Stancu’s son, has an intellectual disability. The 25-year-old has to be cared for himself. In order to be able to look after children and grandchildren at home, Stancu and her husband each gave up their jobs. “I’m slowly reaching my limits,” says Stancu.
A tumor will be discovered in Aurelia in early 2020
The six-year-old’s long ordeal begins at the beginning of 2020: Aurelia complains about an annoying spot behind her ear. The small lump there ultimately turns out to be a tumor. The child suffering from cancer is operated on immediately at the Nuremberg Clinic.
The sick child has to be treated as an inpatient for around eight months. The subsequent chemotherapy is sometimes very difficult for Aurelia. Particularly bad: the associated hair loss. “Her hair was her everything,” remembers Aurelia’s grandmother. “She then said herself: ‘What about me? Something is wrong with me. Why do I have no more hair?'”
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Before her illness, according to her grandma, Aurelia had beautiful long hair. “She looked very, very bad during therapy,” says Stancu. “In the meantime some hair has grown back.” The state of health of the sick girl, however, remains changeable.
The dose of your medication will have to be adjusted accordingly depending on how high your health values are. “When the drugs change, their condition is often critical,” says Stancu. “Then your nausea starts again because your immune system is still very weak.”
When Aurelia’s hair fell out, her father shouted: “She is dying, she is dying”
Aurelia has been attending kindergarten sporadically for three months – if her body allows it. There are only a few other children in her group besides her. “Because of her immune system, it is not yet possible for her to come into a normal group with many kindergarten children,” explains Stancu.
The pandemic is making the situation even more difficult. “With Corona it is now twice as difficult to be careful that nothing happens.” Aurelia’s doctor still advises not to isolate the girl completely, reports the 42-year-old. “Otherwise there might be psychological problems. Then everything would be even more negative.”
Aurelia’s biological father is severely affected by his daughter’s illness. The 25-year-old, who has an intellectual disability, apparently cannot cope with the experiences. “When Aurelia’s hair fell out, he called out: She is dying, she is dying.”
Grandparents of the girl with cancer have financial worries
Christina Stancu also does not know for a long time how to react to the fate of her granddaughter. “Up until then there was no cancer in our family,” she says. “I just kept saying: Please, dear God, let it end well. Make it end well.” At the moment her condition is “halfway in the frame”. “It could be better. It could also be worse,” says the grandmother, describing her granddaughter’s current condition.
Meanwhile, Christina Stancu and her husband are mainly concerned about the financial situation. “I can’t take a job,” says the 42-year-old, describing her current situation. Her husband no longer works either – the 41-year-old takes care of their son. “This makes it impossible for us to say: Okay, at least one of us is working.”
The result: “Financially, we are always short of cash.” According to Stancu, the main reason is the new apartment in which the family of four has been living since last year. “Commuting was no longer possible in the long run.”
The family moves to Nuremberg for cancer treatment
The family previously lived in Weißenburg, which is more than 60 kilometers away. Aurelia’s cancer treatment in the clinic finally made the move to Nuremberg necessary. “Corona started at the same time as Aurelia’s outbreak of disease. Visits were almost impossible.” After searching and waiting forever, they finally rented the current apartment.
The monthly rent for the four-roomApartment in The job center will only partially cover the amount of 1,480 euros. “We’ll have to pay for the rest out of pocket.” A move is unreasonable for Aurelia at the moment.
Due to Aurelia’s weakened immune system, Christina Stancu and her granddaughter have to take a taxi for the weekly hospital appointment – or walk to the clinic 20 minutes away. Public transport is taboo for children with cancer.
There is a donation account for Aurelia and her family
“All in all, we simply incur immense costs.” This is partly due to Aurelia’s diet. “You can only get germ-free food,” says Stancu. “Your food must always be fresh.” That’s why people cook three or four times a day. “The whole thing goes back to the financial. We have to cut back a lot on our part – which we also like to do. But in the long term that is not an option.”
Anyone who wants to help little Aurelia and her family can do so through a donation account that the child’s grandparents set up. Aurelia’s chemotherapy will continue until April next year. “Then you will see how the body reacts,” says Stancu. Are new cancer cells forming again? Or has it really healed. “Fortunately, her granddaughter has not lost her courage.” Thank God Aurelia is a very happy child.
This article was written by Ralf Welz
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