HARARE-(HARARE)-A 14-year-old girl who is battling a rare and aggressive bone cancer has left her family heartbroken after writing letters detailing how she wishes her funeral to be conducted, although her family insists they have not lost hope for her recovery.
Shalom Onoja, a former learner at Nettleton Junior School, was diagnosed in August 2024 and has since undergone an amputation after well-wishers raised a deposit for the operation.
Her condition deteriorated last month and she is currently admitted to the cancer ward at Parirenyatwa Hospital, where she depends on artificial oxygen.
A machine donated by a well-wisher has been set aside for her use at home upon discharge.
Despite her young age, Shalom has written three moving letters. In one, she expresses gratitude to everyone who has supported her through treatment.
In another, she outlines her final wishes, asking to be dressed in a purple dress or an all-white outfit and requesting that her burial be a colourful ceremony. She urges her family and friends not to remember her pain but to cherish the brief time they shared.
According to H Metro, Shalom last Saturday asked to see all her friends in hospital. Although visibly weak, she was able to open her eyes and pose for a photograph.
Because the cancer has now spread to her lungs, she can no longer lie flat and is forced to remain upright, leaning on pillows throughout the day and night.
Her mother, Ndakadaishe Nyaradzo Shumba, said the family has been at the hospital for more than a month and is struggling to cope, but continues to pray for a miracle.
She described her daughter as intelligent and focused, whose dreams have been shattered by the illness, and said the suffering of children in the ward has been deeply distressing for caregivers.
In her letters, Shalom also thanked the nurses in the A4 special ward at Parirenyatwa for their compassion, patience and dignity, saying their small acts of kindness made painful days easier, and extended appreciation to the childhood cancer organisation KidzCan for standing with her family.
Her father, Joe Phiri, said the family is grateful to donors in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia who contributed towards her treatment, as well as local organisations that mobilised funds.
Plans for bone salvage surgery in India were abandoned after doctors discovered the cancer had spread to her lungs, and a subsequent trip to South Africa was cut short due to delays and rising medical costs.
Shalom has remained bedridden since then and was unable to sit for her Grade 7 examinations last year.
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