Five-year-old Naasir Chand is nothing but a miracle to his parents, one whose superpower beats rare cancer at a tender age.
Palm Ridge couple Tayyibah and Aslam Chand were blessed with twin boys as firstborns and eight years later they were blessed with another infant warrior Naasir.
Emotional roller coaster
Naasir, who is in Grade R, was born a normal and healthy baby in April 2016, but four months after birth he was admitted into hospital with septicemia, a blood infection.
According to the youngster’s mother, Tayyibah, it started when he would have an unusual fever and he slept a lot.
“After taking him for an ultrasound, the doctor picked up that his liver had an eight centimetre mass inside it. It was the scariest thing ever and I remember fainting in the lift because I felt that something was wrong. I always say that it was his body but my test, because it was so difficult to be strong,” she said.
As a six-month-old baby, healthy and breastfed, his parents were startled after the doctor broke the news to them that their infant warrior was diagnosed with a rare kind of cancer.
“After numerous tests and scans at the then Johannesburg General Hospital, the surgeon told us that our little Naasir had cancer. They confirmed that he had hepatoblastoma, a rare form of liver cancer that is common in early childhood. The family was devastated and I had to be strong to take in this tragic news,” said Tayyibah.
Positive outlook
Every 21 days he had to go in for chemotherapy for the week and he did four chemo sessions.
He started chemo at exactly six-months-old.
“He had to get blood and platelets transfusion. At one stage we thought we are going to lose him. After going through chemo, he then went for a life-threatening six-hour operation where doctors across the country flew in for him. It was their first-ever operation done on a baby with that type of cancer,” explained Tayyibah.
In May 2017, the brave youngster rang the bell and was ready to go home after being cleared of cancer.
However, when little Naasir was cleared and declared cancer-free at age one, his grandmother also got diagnosed with colon cancer and died in the same year.
“With prayers and the support from friends, family and even strangers, just after Naasir turned one, we were blessed to hear that Naasir was cancer-free. Naasir was our life lesson. He has achieved all of his milestones thus far and is loved deeply by family and friends,” she said.
His father, Aslam, thanked Dr Tanya Schickerling of Netcare Clinton Hospital for her continuous support throughout their journey as well as friends and family for their unwavering care.
A dream come true
He is best described as a bright and cheerful youngster whose gleaming smile always fills a room.
Naasir has always dreamt of riding in a helicopter. When the Reach for a Dream Foundation heard this brave little warrior’s touching story, they decided to make one of his biggest dreams come true.
Emergency services all recently gathered at Fidelity Ruimsig’s hangar in honour of the five-year-old’s brave battle on February 26 in Roodepoort.
The entities included Fidelity Security Group, Fidelity ADT Security Services, ComMed, local police and their Search and Rescue Unit, Fire Ops SA as well as Netcare 911.
