By DARLENE CAY and MELISSA LUZ LOPEZ
Photos by MARIO IGNACIO IV
UNLIKE most kids his age, Fers Roma has long since outgrown his fear of needles and doctors.
“Alam na niya. Sanay na siya. Hindi na siya naiiyak (He understands it. He is already used to it. He doesn’t even cry anymore),” said Aling Ederlina, his mother.
Part of the reason Fers has stopped crying is Tahan-Tahanan, a halfway home for children and their guardians who live outside Metro Manila. Beyond catchy wordplay–the word tahan means “stop crying” and tahanan means “home”–Tahan-Tahanan is a place of solace. Here, children can really stop crying.
Fers, 11, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in December 2009. He has to go through 12 cycles of chemotherapy lasting up to three months each, with medicines alone costing some P37,000 per cycle, excluding laboratory fees, food and transportation.