Faith over fear: miracle baby combats cancer
For parents Juandré and Simoné Potgieter, their beautiful daughter Lemé is a miracle baby whose heart at one stage stopped at least twice during her stay in hospital.
At age one Lemé Potgieter has already made headlines for being a brave youngster who battled advanced neuroblastoma cancer.
She is looked upon as a living testimony.
Lemé’s life journey started at only 29 weeks young. She was prematurely born on August 6, 2021. She spent two months in the neonatal intensive care unit and went home as a healthy baby, with mommy and daddy overjoyed.
Unfortunately, her mother Simoné noticed a lump on Lemé’s back at the beginning of February. They did not take any chances and immediately took her to the doctor.
“Cancer was never the first thought, maybe a swollen lymph node or infection of some kind, but definitely not cancer. We then received the shocking news that Lemé did not only have cancer but that it was in stage four. Fortunately, her doctor reacted quickly and scheduled three chemotherapy sessions, each lasting three days with 21-day intervals,” she said.
After the first two sessions, she had an MIBG scan, which showed that the treatment was partially effective.
She then had a few more rounds of chemo before they decided to surgically remove the tumour.
According to Simoné, the surgery was successful and they removed 95% of the tumour.
Miracle baby
For her parents, Lemé is a happy child whom they regard as a miracle baby for her hardships and surviving a life-threatening operation.
During the early stages of her diagnosis, she underwent an operation which was about four to five hours and was put on a ventilator for a week.
“She was operated on a Friday. On Saturday morning her heart stopped and on Sunday morning her heart stopped again. They couldn’t take her off the ventilator for about a week and she was miraculously fine, all of a sudden with prayer. And for the first time after being in the ICU she was eating,” explained Simoné.
The good news did not stop there, as recently a month after her surgery her parents received the amazing news that Lemé was now in remission.
Not only did baby Lemé survive a level three brain bleed at 29 weeks, but she has beaten cancer before the age of one.
Keeping the faith
Dr Tanya Schickerling of Netcare Alberton Hospital confirmed that little Lemé was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and that she has a very good chance of surviving because of her age.
“Neuroblastoma is the most deadly cancer in children. If you’re diagnosed before age of one, there is a very good chance of spontaneous remission. It has been shown that the tumour can disappear by itself. She was in stage four and it went into the lung cavity, into the abdomen and the bone marrow,” she said.
She reiterated that Lemé is in remission and they are very hopeful it stays that way.
“Last week Monday, we did blood tests with Schickerling and we still didn’t see any cancer. We then did an X-ray and realised that there was something in the lung that we can’t figure out. At the moment I’m hanging by a thread because we don’t know if it’s cancer that’s back or not,” explained Simoné.
She also said the future is unpredictable with a child with cancer and many times one’s faith gets tested.
“One minute you are in remission, the next minute you are wondering what’s there. When I pack my bags, the first thing that goes is the Bible and when I get here I open it. The only thing we keep doing is to remain positive and keep praying,” Simoné said.
She confidently stated that her daughter has a bigger purpose in life.
