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Gift of support for Yakeza Mae Sarona

  • THANK YOU! from Ken and Theresa

      16 July 2017

    To all the supporters of dear Yakeza (Mimi) Mae Sarona...

    We hope you don’t mind a mass thank you as there are so many to greet.

    You have all been so wonderful to our dear daughter and her family. We miss her so much. She was so brave in her journey, kind to all others even when she was pained. Dear Mimi was so easy to love in her life. She loved everybody and so easily sacrificed her own wants for the good and feelings of others.

    The pain of our loss is softened a little knowing she touched on so many hearts in her short sweet life. The only way we can cope with the vacuum in our life now is to try and copy as much as we can, the faith hope and charity of Mimi’s example.

    Bless you all

    Deep love and gratitude,

    Ken and Theresa Sarona Booth

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  • End of Yakeza's Journey

      10 June 2017
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    Hi, I have now closed Yakeza's Givealittle page as we have now reached the end of her journey. Although it's now closed for donations, you can still read her story and find out the amazing trials she has gone through by going into the Updates and gallery of her page. She has been an inspiration to many because of her strong faith and positive outlook. She has faced each pain and suffering with a smile on her face.

    I would like to wholeheartedly thank all of you who have generously donated to her Givealittle page. Thank you for supporting  her while she was being treated for AML - Acute myeloid leukemia.  Thank you to all the doctors and nurses who took care of her. Special thanks to Mary Potter hospice nurses and volunteers.  This place has been her recent home and gave her comfort until her passing.

    You may still have the chance to express your love and condolences to Yakeza's family, her Mom Theresa and Pop Ken Booth.   There will be a Memorial Mass for her on 11th June 2017 at St Joseph church  (near Basin Reserve).  The Novena prayer will start at 12:40 and Mass at 1 pm.

    Thank you and God bless you always!

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  • Message from Yakeza's parents

      6 June 2017

    Message from Yakeza's parents:

    Ken and Theresa Booth

    Our dearest Mimi has left us. Brave heart, dear heart, full of love and understanding for others. Dear daughter of Teresa and Ken (Pop) will go on in our hearts and the rest of her relatives and all who knew her.

    Our sincerest gratitude for the immense kindness and generosity of the NZ people, Filipino community, colleagues and friends worldwide.

    The untiring efforts of Yakeza's friends are deeply appreciated for their selfless hard work and obvious love for Mimi.

    Again, thank you all for the love and support you have given to our precious Mimi.

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  • Mary Potter Hospice 22nd May 2017

      26 May 2017
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    Thank you for continuously supporting Yakeza on her journey.  She is whole heartedly in gratitude to everyone who cares for her, visits her and most especially for those who prays for her.

    Her Mom Theresa and Pop Ken are with her when she transferred from the hospital to Mary Potter Hospice in Newtown last Monday 22nd May.  Her sister Rachel and nephew Kyle will be arriving tomorrow.

    She is comfortable in the hospice and is very well taken cared of.  Most of the time she is sleeping or resting due to medication's effect to treat her stomach pains.  Although she may not reply to each of your messages and well wishes, please know that she highly appreciates them and that you give comfort to her.

    Thank you and may God bless you always!

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  • Palliative care

      29 April 2017

    Update on Yakeza Mimi as at 28 April 2017

    Yakeza went to her doctor's appointment on Friday afternoon together with people close to her heart (her best friends, prayer warriors, house mate and hospital chaplain). Her Step-Dad 'Pop' is overseas listening quietly from a conference call while the doctor discuss Yakeza's situation to the group.

    The doctor explained with a very calm voice, clear words and compassionate tone...

    (Please note... The following quotes may not be the exact words but I just tried to remember based on my notes)

    "Yakeza's AML (Acute myeloid leukemia) is treatable. When she was diagnosed with AML, we found abnormalities in her FLT3 mutation. Although this is treatable by chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, the transplant is a risky treatment. The ideal donor for a transplant is a well matched donor. However with the circumstances at that time, we found a half matched sibling donor."

    "Yakeza's heart deteriorated and she had bad infections due to the chemo. This improved quickly before the transplant. She had the bone marrow transplant last February and this was going nicely until this week. We were concerned that her blood counts were dropping. Blood test showed that her leukemia cells relapsed."

    "Because she had relapsed in less than 3 months of the bone marrow transplant, further treatment may not make any difference to her blood count and further chemo may make her very unwell."

    The doctor then asked Yakeza and the group if they had any questions. Yakeza is now on palliative care and she will need to make heavy decisions further on her journey.

    Yakeza is so blessed to be surrounded by people who loves her (even across the globe). She has high spirits and is spiritually prepared. Yakeza has been so inspiring as her faith keeps her going.

    I would like to please call on your generous heart if you could help me raise funds for Yakeza Mimi. She has decided to stay in New Zealand to receive palliative care here because she might not have the strength to travel back to the Philippines. Her only wish is for her family to be able to come over and be with her.

    Thank you for taking the time to read this update. God bless you always!

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  • Update after bone marrow transplant...

      27 February 2017
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    Update on Yakeza's journey as at 27 Feb 2017

    17 days ago, on the 10th of February, Yakeza Mimi was given a NEW LIFE!  She finally received the bone marrow transplant. Yey! I witnessed how the specialist was carefully preparing the 217 ml of stem cells that will be injected to her. She said it is very precious and is truly like a blood of gold.  Very amazing that the 2.96 million stem cells will be life saving for Yakeza.

    The hero of this story is Yakeza's sister, Rachel Lou.  The day before the transplant,  the hospital has organised to harvest the stem cells from Rachel Lou.  She had to undergo the most scariest and painful procedure of her life.  With both arms stretched out and not allowed to move for 5 to 6 hours is very difficult to do (Oops, difficult is an understatement!). To describe it would be more like strenuous, back-breaking, painful, tiresome, mentally excruciating and the most inconvenient experience one has to go through.  Just imagine, on her one arm, a big IV needle was taking out the blood from her and on the other arm, another IV needle was putting back her blood into her.  In between this process, the blood went through the machine that would harvest the 3 million stem cells that Yakeza needed for the transplant.  I would say that was a miracle! You've done an amazing job Rachel Lou! God bless you always! ☺

    For the past two weeks, Yakeza has been confined in complete isolation at the hospital as she recovers from the transplant.  Her body is doing its best not to have any problems or fever from infection.  Her neutrophils are slowly going up each day.  The only problem that Yakeza has, is her appetite for hospital food. Her taste buds are getting tired and she misses home cooked meals and Filipino dishes. "Had enough of mashed potatoes!"  "Where's the rice?" She would ask some times.  Yakeza is so funny!  Nurses caring for her are amazed with her positive outlook and approach to life.  Her healing also comes from her deep faith and trust in the Lord.

    Let us pray for Yakeza's speedy recovery and for her to have the strength and patience to track along this journey of her new life. May her neutrophils consistently go upwards so she can be discharged from the hospital soon.

    We also thank the people that continuously support her, by visiting her or video calling her just asking how she's doing or even the simple act of telling her funny jokes and making her laugh and be happy.  Her day is so much brighter because of all of you!  Thank you as you are a blessing to her. 💛

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  • Miracles do happen...

      19 January 2017

    Miracles do happen...

    A month has gone by after the last update from Yakeza. I am continously amazed on how she has coped with the trials she has gone through especially during the Christmas period. I believe her increased faith, hope and trust in the Lord made all the difference.

    A few days after her chemo therapy,  she had neutropenic sepsis and stayed in the hospital. Because of this, her electrolytes went down and she needed fluids but then her heart got weaker. This prevented her from having more fluids and she had a hard time breathing.  She was confined in the ICU for strict monitoring and stayed there for 4 days. A day before Christmas, my family and Father Mario visited her in the ICU.  Even if she was connected to several monitoring machines and had a hard time talking, we can still see from eyes, her strength and willingness to get better.  I heard her say to Father Mario "I will be healed!"

    She then went back to the wards, stayed there for another 3 days and was discharged in time for new year.  She had to undergo several bone marrow test and last Friday was the last one, then waiting for the results.  She had a meeting with the transplant team and they advised her that they will not do the transplant if her heart is still weak as it's too risky. That's why she is really trying her best to get better. She was scheduled to have a repeat echo in 2 weeks time to see if there is improvement in her heart.

    Yakeza is now feeling a bit better and patiently waiting for the results of her test until yesterday.

    Today is a miracle! She received several great news:

    * she is now on remission; and

    * her sister received the visa to come to NZ for her bone marrow transplant!

    Yakeza appreciates all the support that she received and would like to thank all that offered prayers for her.

    Let us continue to say a prayer and good intentions for Yakeza's speedy recovery.  She still has a long road to travel but with your help and support it will make her journey easier.

    Thank you for your kind generosity!  God bless us all!

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  • Update from Yakeza herself

      17 December 2016

    I would like to thank everyone for their unselfish generosity. I'm still in awe that kindness still exist in this world. I'm very humbled by your donations. Please know that all of you have greatly helped me. I don't know how I can repay all your kindness but God will surely bless all of you.

    I haven't done much updating as I am very weak most of the time. It is frustrating sometimes not able to do a simple tasks because I tire easily. It's a rollercoaster ride for me and it took time for me to accept the fact that I'm weaker this time due to a lot of chemo drugs given to me and I should acknowledge help from other people. I'm super blessed to have friends with me to make sure I'm attended 24/7. That's a deal I had to make with the doctors so they can let me out of the Hospital. It's hard to rely on other people because I'm embarrassed but then I had no choice. I am also waiting for my bone marrow transplant which hopefully will happen January next year. Again, I am so blessed that the hospital is helping me with this procedure by bringing my sister here and who will be my donor. I'm looking forward for all the procedure to finish and be a success. I ask you once again to please pray for me and my sister. I am positive that everything will be okay because I have faith in God's immense plan. Nothing is impossible with Him. I'll keep on fighting. Have a merry christmas everyone and bountiful new year. Xoxo, Yakeza.

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  • Second cycle of Chemo treatment

      5 December 2016

    Today, 5th December is the start of the second cycle for Yakeza. She will be in the hospital for 4 weeks. The doctors plan to schedule her bone marrow transplant by 1st week of January. Hopefully there will be a donor by then.

    Thank you for your continuous support!

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    • 06/12/2016 by YAKEZA MAE Sarona

      Thank you to all generous donors....that's a very big help for me. Godbless you all a hundredfold..xoxo Yakeza.