Strong teen keeps grades up even while battling cancer
Published:Monday | February 21, 2022 | 12:07 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
In October 2020, Meadowbrook High School student Gabrielle Goode, then 14 years old, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common type of cancer in children.
She was diagnosed after complaining of a pain in her neck and shortly after, there was the discovery of a swelling in her neck. An ultrasound and an X-ray found there was a huge mass in her neck.
A biopsy later confirmed the family’s worst fears, and although the survival rate for children with ALL is high, the diagnosis, nevertheless, was a “devastating” blow for Gabrielle’s parents, Maurice and Juanita Goode.
“It was devastating to say the least,” Maurice admitted in an interview with The Gleaner. “I remember so vividly when we were told, my wife Juanita could not control the emotions, she was actually using herself to clean the floor. It was really hard. It was not something you would want to hear, but I guess it is what it is.
“A difficult road, but there has been great support and even this dream weekend by Moon Palace is one of those things that helped to get us through what we are facing,” he added.
To add to the distress, there is the financial burden that comes with such diagnoses, which the family is trying to overcome.
“It is hard financially, and again, thankfully, we’ve been getting support from friends and family, and even persons that we don’t know. We continue to get support and hope that all our bills will be met.”
The light at the end of the tunnel, though, has been how well the teenager has responded to the challenge, a credit to her strength, both parents noted.
“And when we say strong, we mean pretty strong,” Juanita pointed out.
“We got the diagnosis in October, when she just started grade nine. She was able to complete all of grade nine, got a fair enough, good average and was even given her subject choices, all the sciences.
“She spent about three weeks of grade 10 in the hospital and she is on par. She is doing pretty well, so she’s very, very strong; she’s a fighter. She decided she wasn’t going to repeat grade nine, and so even in the hospital they applauded her to say you’re a very brave girl, you’re a very strong girl. There are times when she is down, but she held out and she’s not behind in any way at all.
“Thankfully, she’s been doing well in school and I think COVID probably helped, ironically speaking. Because the fact that there was no face-to-face (classes) going on, and the fact that she was in hospital, she now has the opportunity of having class online; that in itself is like a blessing, so to speak.”
Based on how well Gabrielle has been coping, Maurice wonders sometimes if his daughter fully understands the gravity of what is happening to her.
“But when you speak with her, you know that she does. Her faith and her trust in God, I think, is what keeps her, and I guess because the support is there also. But there are times – especially when she was in the hospital for almost a year – there are many times that she cried, wanting to come home,” he stated.
After doing chemotherapy at the University Hospital of the West Indies for 13 months, Gabrielle is currently in remission. Maurice remains cautiously optimistic about the long-term diagnosis.
“That’s where the hope is, that’s where the faith is, that in the end everything will work out. But in the same breath, I just have to keep my mind open, because I’ve observed things happening, going against the norm, and I don’t want to be foolish into thinking that nothing will happen. That is safety keeping for my own sanity, so to speak.”
In the years to come, Gabrielle will become a medical doctor. That’s her goal and that is what she will achieve.
FACTS ON CHILDHOOD CANCER
According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) which is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional office for the Americas:
Jamaica is responsible for 0.3 per cent of all childhood cancer cases in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 0.4 per cent of related deaths each year.
This amounts to 90 new cases and 39 cancer deaths, among people below 20 years of age, annually. That’s a death rate of 43 per cent.
Additionally, 19.3 per cent of all deaths among children and adolescents (one-19 years) are due to cancer.
When it comes to medicines to treat children with cancer, 77 per cent of these medicines are included in Jamaica’s Essential Medicines List.