Two months ago, Bennie (9) was still a happy boy. But suddenly he turned into a sick child. Bennie has a brain tumor and was treated in the Netherlands. His family has started a crowdfunding campaign so that he can go to America for a promising drug. ‘He is deteriorating every day’, says his uncle Ricardo Krijbolder (Zokkencentrale).
The first complaints started in early May. Bennie started seeing double. His mother takes him to the doctor and is immediately referred to the Haga Hospital. A day later they get the results: cancer in the brain stem. Bennie immediately had to go to the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology.
“It’s now been a month and he can’t move his right arm anymore. Walking is difficult, he is in a scooter and eating and drinking is difficult. He drinks from a straw and gets very small mice snacks’, says his uncle Ricardo.
Expensive medicine in America
The doctors in the Netherlands can do nothing for him anymore. “It’s an aggressive form of brain cancer,” Ricardo says. “His doctors can only treat him now to extend his life by a few months. But in America there is a drug that gives him 15 to 20 percent more chance of living a little longer,” his uncle says.
“We’re trying to get that money together as soon as possible so we can send my nephew to America quickly.” The crowdfunding campaign started last weekend and on Wednesday afternoon the counter stands at more than 125,000 euros. A total of 300,000 euros is needed.
Chemo and radiation
Bennie is currently receiving radiation and chemotherapy tablets. “It won’t make his hair fall out and hopefully he won’t get very sick,” says Mijntje. “By irradiating, they try to put the tumor to sleep, so that we have time to collect the money. If he stays in the Netherlands, he will probably die within a year.”
It is a very difficult time for the family. “It’s terrible, our lives are turned upside down,” said Ricardo, Bennie’s father’s brother. “It’s like a dream we’re living in, a nightmare.”
According to Ricardo, Bennie doesn’t know exactly what’s going on. “He knows that he has a ball in his head and that he is being treated for it. We explained it in childish language.” The family tries to stay strong for him. “But it’s heartbreaking to see his little face.”
Future
The treatment in America is experimental and has not yet been approved in the Netherlands. “They want to help him there, although it’s not 100 percent sure he will survive. The doctors there can’t say he’s getting better.” But the prospect is 20 percent better than here, according to Ricardo. With the treatment, they hope to prolong Bennie’s life so that a new drug comes on the market in the meantime.
You can donate via the site www.helpbennie.nl
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