Princess Margaret Hospital
Family ties help Alex
Alex Loiacono and his parents Richard and Pippa have relied on the strength of their strong Italian Family, with origins in Calabria, to help get them through a very difficult time.
Four-year-old Alex is suffering from Leukemia and was diagnosed in February last year, the same day his dad turned 30.
"He woke up one morning and tried to walk, but couldn't and fell flat on his face," mum Pippa said. "He was very pale, which we first put down to having a virus. He had loads of bruises, which I though was normal for an almost three-year-old, and the distended belly came on so gradually, we didn’t notice."
Alex’s first year if treatment involved chemotherapy every week, but his original protocol didn’t work so he is now on stronger treatment. He takes one or two tables every night, and steroids five days out of every month.
Luckily he has only had one stay at PMH in the last five months and his hair has grown back, to the point of needing his first hair cut in over a year!
Nearly eighteen months since the diagnosis, Pippa reflects on how far they’ve come:
"At first we thought we were going to lose Alex, Especially when the first round didn't take. But when the next round did work we were very happy, to the point that nothing else would ever so bad."
"The whole family has pulled together and we have helped each other cope."
