Celina
Clara Pannunzio
founder and director
Fundación María Cecilia de Ayuda al Niño Oncológico (Argentina)
My name is Clara Pannunzio and I am Celina’s mother. She was an oncological patient at the age of 10. In November 1988 she was diagnosed with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) at the Garrahan Hospital in Buenos Aires.
It was two years of treatment, at a time when the treatment was very hard as catheters and pseudo-anesthesia were not yet used for punctures. Nor was there much supportive medication to raise defenses or control the effects of chemo on patients. Despite everything, we had great support from the medical team that attended her.
Today, Celina is the mother of two boys aged 17 and 13. Everything about the disease feels far away. She is a woman of great strength and gratitude towards life.
Celina, after those two years, began with her usual life. She was able to return to the classical dance practices, which were her dream.
She has few memories of those years. Just a little bit of rejection of punctures, which was overcome over time.
She fell in love and formed a beautiful family. Today, she is the mother of two boys aged 17 and 13. Everything about the disease feels far away. She is a woman of great strength and gratitude towards life.
As a mom, I also learned a lot and that experience drove me to the idea of helping other families to cope with this disease.
As a mom, I also learned a lot and that experience drove me to the idea of helping other families to cope with this disease. I met Maria Ester, mother of Maria Cecilia, with whom we shared the struggle of our daughters and the beautiful friendship they had from sharing the same disease. That close bond, born of the pain of our little ones with different destinies, led us to summon other mothers and fathers of oncological children to be able to do something to alleviate in some way this situation in other families, to be able to carry hope.
The cure is possible and throughout all these years, in the foundation I have been able to live the joy of seeing many children carry out their treatment and win.
