When Mariella Monreal stopped working so that she could be with her 10-year-old son, who was diagnosed with cancer, the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation stepped in.
“Stopping work overnight meant we suddenly had less income, and I don’t know how we would have coped throughout the past year.
“The foundation helped us out with things that many might take for granted, such as food and home appliances, but for us, this meant we could focus on remaining strong for each other,” Ms Monreal said.
Ms Monreal was speaking to this newspaper ahead of the President’s Solidarity Fun Run, which will be held this Sunday.
The yearly event is one in a series that raises funds for the MCCF, which provides financial, material and professional support to people experiencing difficulties because of severe chronic illness, including cancer. It also supports people with disability, others in poverty and NGOs.
Although she has contributed financially in the past, this will be the first time that Ms Monreal joins in the fun run because, now that she knows what the foundation’s support means in practical terms, she would like to help out in any way she can.
Gabriel will not be able to participate, as he is still receiving treatment, but he is already looking forward to answer the phone during L-Istrina.
The foundation helped us out with things that many take for granted
The boy started treatment in October of last year. His mother recalls he started complaining of chest pain when he returned home from a Sunday football tournament.
The pain increased the following day and he was seen at a health centre. But by Monday morning he had fever, and the family doctor asked the family to take him to hospital, where he was kept overnight.
“The following day, we were told he had lymphoma. But I was told there had been a couple of other men diagnosed with the same thing, and they were nowadays grown up men with their own family.
“It was very tough in the beginning, especially when Gabriel started treatment. Until that day, the word cancer for me meant fatality… but I soon learnt that there were several paths we could take,” his mother said.
Gabriel missed a whole year at school, but he still sat for exams, and started Form One in September.
He has also started playing football again, although he is still receiving treatment – orally, rather than intravenously. The family has been told he would need treatment until 2019, but he feels that his life is getting back on track.
The Monreal family has received support from both Puttinu Cares and the MCCF.
Apart from the mental and emotional trauma, Ms Monreal explained that the family also went through a financial ordeal.
She had to stop working to spend the day with Gabriel, while her husband would spend the night with him while she rested at home with their 18-year-old daughter.
“Until you go through such an ordeal, you really have no idea what it is like. We complain about the little things, like the weather… and you soon learn how frivolous these things are.”
Bookings for the fun run can be made on www.mccf.store, or at Banif Bank branches, Maltco, San Anton Palace and MCCF Office in Valletta.
There will be a free shuttle service from 7am until 2pm from the Works Department parking in Floriana to Saqqajja and Santa Venera, from the Floriana Granaries to the University of Malta and Paola.