Cancer treatment uproots family’s normal lives
Lina and Allistair Sione with their sons, 2-year-old Alfonzo, left, and 3-year-old Alwyn. The family moved into the Onemalu Transitional Shelter in Kapolei in April after living with friends for 10 months.
Allistair and Lina Sione were enjoying lives of quiet contentment, raising their two little boys in American Samoa, when they found out she had cancer.
They made the move to Hawaii this summer "with a mission to beat my advanced stage 3 breast cancer," she said, as the necessary medical treatment was unavailable where they lived. It was a major sacrifice to leave behind all they had and start a new life with no relatives, jobs, or place to live in a new country.
They barely had enough money for airfare, and after staying with friends for 10 months, the Siones moved into the Onemalu Transitional Shelter in Kapolei in April.
Christmas presents for the boys this year will depend on the goodwill of strangers, which can be made possible through the Adopt-A-Family program of Helping Hands Hawaii. The Star-Advertiser’s annual Good Neighbor Fund drive supports the holiday program by asking readers to contribute funds or material goods, and they may designate to which family their donations go.
Lina Sione said: "This time of the year used to be my favorite because we could look forward to the holiday season to have fun, spend time and enjoy the company of family and friends. But with them thousands of miles away, we can only wish each other the best and be thankful we’ve made it to the end of the year, and look forward to what the new year has in store for us." She especially misses her mother, she added.
"Dealing with a life-threatening disease really changed our aspect of life," Sione said. "From a worry-free and relaxed life back home with our families around to support us with every need, to the struggles of standing on our own feet for the first time away from them, we have learned to appreciate the simplest things in life."
Just being together is a blessing in itself, as Sione came to Hawaii in June, and her husband and sons were able to join her just one week before her mastectomy in August, she said. They hadn’t enough money for airfare to come sooner.
"Seeing Allistair and the boys was a big relief for me. They were my supporters and big motivators to get it done," Sione said, smiling.
Depression hit after her first chemotherapy, along with its ravaging side effects. With radiation on top of it came extreme fatigue.
"But seeing my kids made me forget about it and made me try to get up and play with them, interact with them, not give up," she added.
Sione said her "adorable boys, ages 3 (Alwyn) and 2 (Alfonzo)" love attending the preschool next to the shelter and have started speaking and relating more with more kids around them.
"It is not the best lifestyle a parent could ever dream of raising their children in, but we are deeply grateful for the resources we have to get by every day," she said.
The Siones realize that with her health problems, she couldn’t afford to fly back and forth for treatment in case her cancer recurs.
The couple takes parenting classes and other training at the shelter to one day qualify for permanent housing, and her husband attends job fairs. Lina is applying for citizenship and hopes to take online night classes to get a college degree in the future.
Her husband, originally from Western Samoa, is not allowed to work legally until problems with his U.S. green card are resolved. Much of their money goes to a lawyer to help with paperwork and toward renewing his immigration status.
Sione said, "My wish for our little family this Christmas is bicycles for our boys."
They jump on the bikes locked to the fence of the building’s playground every time they go out and pretend they’re riding them. She and her husband also need clothes because theirs are wearing out from weekly washing.
THE GOOD NEIGHBOR FUND
Clothing, household items and gifts can be dropped off at the Community Clearinghouse, 2100 N. Nimitz Highway, next to Puuhale Road.
Monetary gifts may be sent to the Star-Advertiser’s Good Neighbor Fund; Care of Helping Hands Hawaii; 2100 N. Nimitz Highway, Honolulu, HI 96819.
Checks made out to the Good Neighbor Fund also may be dropped off at any of First Hawaiian Bank’s branches statewide.
Call 440-3800 or email hhh@helpinghandshawaii.org for more information to sign up for the Adopt-a-Family Program or to arrange for pickup of large items.
Helping Hands Hawaii’s donation warehouse hours are 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. The warehouse will also be open from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.
GOOD NEIGHBOR FUND DONATIONS
Donations as of Thursday:
| The Edwin S.N. Wong Foundation | $1,000 |
| Cynthia Burdge MD | $700 |
| Thomas J. Vincent Foundation Inc | $550 |
| Melfried Olson | $500 |
| Audrey S. II | $300 |
| Donald M. Fujimoto and Dawn M. Young and the Farrington High School Class of 1948 | $250 |
| Robert Nathanson | $250 |
| Ruth K. Hase TTEE | $250 |
| Dennis S. Kohara | $200 |
| Eugene H. Kamimura | $200 |
| Marshall E. Brown III | $200 |
| Randal K. and Joyce T. Suzuki | $200 |
| In memory of Myrna Minatodani | $200 |
| In loving memory of Pamelyn Yee Brown | $200 |
| In memory of Philip, Annie, Buddy and Patches | $200 |
| In loving memory of William and Jayne Gibson | $200 |
| In loving memory of Tutu and Opa, Popo and Papa | $150 |
| John W. Leroux | $150 |
| Michael T. Miyabara | $150 |
| Gregg K. and Marlene C. Isara | $105 |
| J.T. Tokunaga | $102 |
| Anna I. Toda | $100 |
| Ayako O. Merrithew | $100 |
| Charlene Wong | $100 |
| Collette Wiedemann | $100 |
| Henry T. and Joan M. Oyama | $100 |
| Herbert H. Frantz, Trustee | $100 |
| Janice R.K. Kakazu | $100 |
| Joseph A. Goulart | $100 |
| Joyce A. Mitsunaga | $100 |
| Katherine Kiyabu | $100 |
| Linda A. Tolmie | $100 |
| Lynn N. Nishihara | $100 |
| Marianne L. Mueggenburg | $100 |
| Mel, Dar, Chad and Quin | $100 |
| Michael D. Kincaid | $100 |
| Molly M. Egged | $100 |
| M.M. Maeda and N.K. Muromoto-Maeda | $100 |
| Patricia L. Scharff | $100 |
| Patrick Yu | $100 |
| Robert E. Brennan | $100 |
| Shigeto and Natsuko Minami | $100 |
| Stephen T. Hazam | $100 |
| In honor of Bob Maguire’s 90th birthday | $100 |
| In memory of the late Chester K.T. Ching | $100 |
| In memory of Grace and Frank Ahern | $100 |
| In memory of Irene Punohu and Ima Okubo | $100 |
| In memory of Ric and Frances | $100 |
| In memory of Calvin Nichlas Wiel | $70 |
| Lance Watari | $60 |
| Noble Lieu | $60 |
| Sunset Homes LLC | $50 |
| Alan T. Okamoto | $50 |
| Alice S. Yasutake | $50 |
| Audrey S. Tokuda | $50 |
| Cheryl Schepper Lau | $50 |
| C.J. Davis Terry | $50 |
| Claire A. Kawawaki | $50 |
| Erin Denham | $50 |
| Hanna C. Heintz | $50 |
| J. and A. Naughton | $50 |
| Karen Oshiro | $50 |
| Kim, Keiki, Lucy Pang | $50 |
| Masters Noah M. and Micah K. Naniole-Furutani | $50 |
| Suzanne Haverty | $50 |
| Toni Timm Winner | $50 |
| Walter M. Yamada | $50 |
| Watson W.S. Li | $50 |
| Wayne K. Sarae | $50 |
| Vernette N.Y. Fukuda | $50 |
| In memory of Pali Lee | $50 |
| Lee S. Fackrell | $41 |
| Leland, Lexi, Sydney and Taylor | $35 |
| In memory of Wendell P. Hopkins | $35 |
| Mica and Apollo | $30 |
| Alma Y.C. O’Day | $25 |
| Beatrice Goodenow | $25 |
| Beatrice K. Nakaoka | $25 |
| Brenda C.K. Lee | $25 |
| Daniel Y. Taba | $25 |
| Josephine Antonio | $25 |
| Magdalena J. Cambia | $25 |
| Masako Nishimura Living Trust | $25 |
| Nicole Powell-Dunford and Michael Dunford | $25 |
| Pauline T. Young | $25 |
| Amand Dunpont | $20 |
| Dael K. Kaneshiro | $20 |
| Dane Maxwell | $20 |
| Jack L. and Frances J.C. Wong | $20 |
| Leslie A. Hayashi | $20 |
| Miguel Reyes | $20 |
| Nancy R. Yamachi | $20 |
| R.T. and Leiko Murakami | $20 |
| In memory of Frances M. Wood | $20 |
| Cynthia I. Lebowitz | $18 |
| Brandi Yap | $10 |
| Breeann Yap | $10 |
| Gayle Uyema | $10 |
| Patricia A. Yoshikawa Trust | $10 |
| Bonnie Maka | $5 |
| Mark S. | $5 |
| Joseph Hayes | $5 |
| Amelia Suragairin | $1 |
| Anonymous | $1,615 |
| Betty’s "By Request" recipe donations | $4,084 |
| Star-Advertiser staff | $2,256.75 |
| This week’s total: | $18,547.75 |
| Previous week’s total | $7,965.50 |
| Grand total | $26,513.25 |
