Jhalena Lafaiki, a 15-year-old Wairoa College student, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia a month ago. Photo / Renee Lafaiki
Jhalena Lafaiki, a 15-year-old Wairoa College student, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia a month ago. Photo / Renee Lafaiki
Renee Lafaiki thought there was nothing unusual at first about her sporty daughter coming home from school with a few bruises on her legs.
Just over a week later, the two of them rushed to Starship Hospital in Auckland shortly after learning Jhalena Lafaiki had acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
Jhalena said she could not think of any explanation for the bruises and spots appearing on her legs.
“We all thought I was just banging into stuff and then it just started getting worse and worse so I went up to the hospital,” she said.
Renee Lafaiki said they decided to wait and see if they would go away at first, but she became very concerned when bruises and spots began to appear on Jhalena’s hands and face.
“Every morning until the day that I took her in she would get up and go to school. Just carry on with her life. I said to her every morning ‘Aren’t I taking you to the doctor?’ and she said “No, it’s alright, I am going to school. It is a fun day,” Renee said.
“Next minute she was just dropping. She went all lethargic and just couldn’t eat, had no energy.”
They had blood tests done before the doctors gave them half an hour to pack their bags at home and they were transferred to Hawke’s Bay Hospital, where further tests were done.
“An hour after that they came out, basically put us in a little room and broke the news to both of us.”
They left for Starship Hospital the next day without even a chance to say goodbye to whānau, whom they had not been able to see in person until this week.
Renee Lafaiki and Jhalena with shaved heads after Jhalena's first chemo treatment. Photo / Renee Lafaiki
AML is a relatively rare type of cancer which prevents the bone marrow from functioning properly, creating a shortage of normal blood cells, and more often occurs in adults and males.
Symptoms can include anaemia, increased bruising or bleeding and frequent infections.
According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, an international charitable organisation, there are no known causes or obvious risk factors for why most people develop AML.
Acute leukaemia develops and progresses quickly and needs to be treated as soon as it is diagnosed according to Leukemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand.
As of 2015, about 700 adults and 40 children were diagnosed with a form of leukaemia in New Zealand annually.
Jhalena said she still feels “fine” right now and the support from back home in Wairoa had been “amazing.
“I have been getting lots of messages and gifts from [my friends] and all the support I need,” Jhalena said.
The Wairoa College student was most looking forward to returning home to see her family and friends again.
Lafaiki said her daughter had been “so strong” through the diagnosis and chemo.
“After the first lot of chemo she was up doing everything normally. It didn’t knock her down, she was just so headstrong.”
She wants other whānau to know the signs to look for with leukaemia so that they won’t be too late to get treatment.
Anahera-Pono Whakatope, a cousin of Jhalena’s pāpā CJ Whakatope, has started a Givealittle fundraiser to raise money to support Jhalena and her whānau with food, travel and accommodation costs.
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
