Vacation relief at Moon Palace for childhood cancer survivors

THREE-YEAR-OLD Shamonae Barnes of St Elizabeth had chemotherapy treatment for her cancer condition just hours before booking into the five-star Moon Palace All-Inclusive Resort in Ocho Rios with her family on Friday.

Little Shamonae, and others like her, must have wondered, at times, why life has to be so hard for some young children, and why cancer had to ravage their young bodies at such tender ages.

She was one of 12 childhood cancer survivors who, along with their families, were offered complimentary weekend vacations at Moon Palace.

Carolyn Wright of Lions Club of Mona said every September the club celebrates Childhood Cancer Survivors worldwide as part of the club’s outreach, and this was one such occasion.

Following last year’s successful weekend at Moon Palace, the Lions Club of Mona, in partnership with Dr Michelle Reece-Mills, again collaborated with the Moon Palace Foundation, whose general manager, Natalie Boreland, was only too happy for the chance to assist the youngsters again, offering them a fantastic four-day weekend in Ocho Rios.

This year, to top of the resort experience, the kids were taken to Dolphin Cove for the experience of swimming with the dolphins.

The gift for these brave young Jamaicans was like a dream come true for some of them, enjoying at no cost what tourists pay huge sums to come to Jamaica to enjoy each year.

“It feels great knowing that she always wanted to be in a setting like this, especially the beach, so it’s a privilege for her to be experiencing all of this,” Tisha Barrett, Shamonae’s mother, told The Gleaner.

She said her group of six family members turned up for the weekend, which they really enjoyed, and she is extremely grateful.

“Thanks to Dr Reece-Mills and the staff at Moon Palace and everyone that made this possible. And thanks to Father God most of all, because He has done great things and this child is a miracle and a living testimony to many,” Barrett added.

Boreland said that to several of the children, who were from the University and Bustamante hospitals, the weekend was a dream come true.

“For some of them, it’s a dream come true. Apart from the dinner, we have different experiences – a tour of the property, water activities, games, etc. We’ve also partnered with Dolphin Cove, where we took them for a dolphin-encounter experience on Sunday, which was a surprise for them,” she said.

At Saturday’s dinner, the children were fêted and presented with ‘Certificates of Courage’ for exhibiting bravery throughout their ordeal. Sunday’s Dolphin Cove experience proved to be the icing on the cake for some family members, most of whom, if not all, were visiting the attraction for the first time.

Dr Reece-Mills spoke of the occasion, saying, “We always try to do something for people to remember that children do get cancer, recognising the children and their families have been through quite a rigorous process, and so we’re here to celebrate with the survivors.”

She said between 60 and 70 children are diagnosed with cancer annually in Jamaica but is unaware of an increase in the figures in recent years.

Some of the more common cancers affecting children are leukemia (cancer of the white blood cells), brain tumour, lymphoma (cancer of the lymph node), and kidney tumour.