Brave five-year-old Dubai cancer patient beats Covid-19


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

On receiving news of her daughter’s Covid-19 diagnosis, the wave of shock that hit a mother in Dubai was eerily familiar.

Karin Voyatjes felt exactly the same way two years ago when she learnt that Alexa, now 5, had cancer.

With her daughter still undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, Ms Voyatjes worried how ill her girl could become from the coronavirus.

“It was such a shock because it was the last thing I expected. She wasn’t sick at the time,” said Ms Voyatjes, from South Africa, of her daughter's Covid-19 diagnosis in August.

You sort of have to disconnect yourself from the emotional side, because you are allowing your child to be tortured, in a way

“The following day the rest of the family all went for tests. My husband and my son tested positive.

“My husband had mild flu symptoms. My son, 6, was totally asymptomatic. I would not have known he had Covid-19 at all. Not a sneeze, not a fever. Absolutely nothing.”

Alexa eventually developed symptoms. Her oxygen levels were stable throughout, but a second chest X-ray revealed a concerning pattern in her lungs, so doctors put her on antibiotics as a precaution.

She tested positive for about six weeks, which is normal for people who are immunocompromised, but eventually beat the virus.

“It was a very stressful period, but luckily everyone was okay,” Ms Voyatjes said.

Alexa, who is now approaching the end of her lengthy treatment for leukaemia, has come a long way.

Ms Voyatjes, who posts on social media regularly to raise awareness about childhood leukaemia, said the early days of her daughter's treatment were hard.

Only three years old at the time, Alexa struggled to understand what was happening to her.

“She’s quite a feisty, outgoing child. She rebelled against the treatment. She [was] making herself vomit in the car,” Ms Voyatjes said.

Next week, Alexa will start the final cycle of her treatment, which is expected to end in February. Antonie Robertson / The National
Next week, Alexa will start the final cycle of her treatment, which is expected to end in February. Antonie Robertson / The National

“They put something under her skin to give direct access to an artery, which is how they insert the chemotherapy.

“During the first few months, she didn’t want it to be touched. She would cry and scream, make herself vomit and take her clothes off rather than have it done.”

It was hard for her mother to watch.

But she coped by focusing on how the treatment could save her life.

“You sort of have to disconnect yourself from the emotional side, because you are allowing your child to be tortured, in a way,” she said.

“It’s a really strange thing to go through as a parent.”

The family sought the help of a psychologist with experience in treating children with cancer. The doctor helped Alexa overcome her anxiety.

“You could treat her with something to calm her down or tie her to the bed, but the long-term effects of that would be worse. It’s a long journey," Ms Voyatjes said.

"So you can’t really use a short-term fix at the beginning. It’s better to treat the core problem.

“She’s absolutely amazing now. The doctors are amazed. We have a routine and there is no protest.”

At the time of the diagnosis, Alexa was ill but there were no major red flags.

She had a fever from tonsillitis that week, a few bruises on her legs, and a more concerning one behind her ear, which could not be explained by any injuries.

A doctor decided to run some tests, which initially suggested she was suffering from a blood clotting disorder.

“The paediatrician who ran the tests said we had to go to the emergency department,” Ms Voyatjes said.

“We agreed to stay overnight after doctors re-ran the blood. The next morning, I had to sign a disclaimer for an emergency blood transfusion and platelet transfusion.

“Her blood count dropped so significantly overnight that it was actually quite dangerous.”

Next week, Alexa will start the final cycle of her treatment, which is expected to end in February.

I don't think we will be able to do much to celebrate at the end of two and a half years of treatment, but it will still be an amazing day

She has been back in school since September and is enjoying being with her friends again.

Ms Voyatjes hopes sharing information online will help others spot the early signs of the illness in their children.

Results from Alexa’s blood tests are good, and they will soon learn whether she is in remission.

With her treatment set to end in a few weeks, the family is planning a celebration – but the pandemic does not make it easy.

“I don’t think we will be able to do much to celebrate at the end of two and a half years of treatment,” Alexa's mother said.

“But it will still be an amazing day.”

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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Afghanistan Premier League - at a glance

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Fixtures:

Tue, Oct 16, 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Kabul Zwanan; Wed, Oct 17, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Nangarhar Leopards; 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Paktia Panthers; Thu, Oct 18, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Kandahar Knights; 8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers; Fri, Oct 19, 8pm: First semi-final; Sat, Oct 20, 8pm: Second semi-final; Sun, Oct 21, 8pm: final

Table:

1. Balkh Legends 6 5 1 10

2. Paktia Panthers 6 4 2 8

3. Kabul Zwanan 6 3 3 6

4. Nagarhar Leopards 7 2 5 4

5. Kandahar Knights 5 1 4 2

World%20Food%20Day%20
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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

Tomb%20Raider%20I%E2%80%93III%20Remastered
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Rocketman

Director: Dexter Fletcher

Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five stages of early child’s play

From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:

1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.

2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.

3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.

4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.

5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.

MATCH INFO

RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')

Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)

Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin