A year of fear, hope for the future

Susan Mazura joined the ranks of parents of children with cancer a year ago. It was the last place she wanted to be.

Above: Four-year-old Roman Merlo gives his mother, Susan Mazura, a kiss in their Lake Riviera home on Friday. The little boy, who has Ewing's sarcoma, endured 14 rounds of chemotherapy and lost his shoulder blade and shoulder joint to the disease last year. Left: Roman peers out from underneath the dining room table in his home. Her life changed on the first Saturday in March 2007. Her son Roman, almost 3, played outside that sunny day. He stood on the back porch, blowing bubbles and laughing.

"He was having a beautiful day," his mother recalled.

Later, she took the little boy inside to give him a bath. Mazura wasn't prepared for what she found.

A hard, 6-inch lump had sprouted up virtually overnight on Roman's left shoulder blade. It had not been there during her son's last bath. Mazura immediately called Rashmi Sandeep, her son's new pediatrician, who arranged for Roman to be taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, for a CAT scan.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff That was the beginning of a yearlong "blur," his mother said.

A nervous Mazura waited outside while Roman had the test.

"I knew when they walked him out, it was cancer," she said. "Everybody was very solemn."

Dr. Sandeep called her with the CAT scan results.

"She said, 'I'm sorry, you're going to have to get Roman an oncologist.' "Mazura said. Roman had Ewing's sarcoma, a form of bone cancer that is very unusual in children his age.

"It was absolutely surreal" when she was told the news, Mazura said. "It was like you were plucked out of life and placed in some alien reality."

She would stand in checkout lines at stores and marvel at the ordinary things she overheard people complain about.

"I felt so removed fromsociety," she said. "I'd think, God, I wish I had those problems."

"He went through a lot," his mother said. "We went through a lot."

Sandeep arranged for Roman to be evaluated at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, or CHOP, as Mazura calls it.

CHRIS KELLY staff Four-year-old Roman Merlo is recovering from cancer surgery and chemotherapy. The Brick PBA held their annual "Helping Hands" benefit to help his family with bills. See cover story. Roman was given the latest protocol for his illness - a brutal 14 rounds of chemotherapy, with only 10 days between each treatment.

"As soon as his white [blood] cell count went up, they would hit him again," Mazura said. "He was in isolation the entire time."

The little boy's immune systemwas compromised and he contracted rotavirus, a virulent infection that attacked his digestive tract.

"It was vile and violent," Mazura said. "It almost killed him. He was emaciated. He was down to 22 pounds. It was awful."

After the virus finally subsided, Roman had surgery to remove his left shoulder blade and shoulder joint. Although he can move his left hand, he cannot hold his arm over his head and his range of motion is limited. Fortunately, the little boy is right-handed.

"I love you,Nani," he cooed to his grandmother Madeline Smith one day last week.

"I love you too," Smith replied.

When Roman came home in the fall, he andMazuramoved in with Smith. But they couldn't stay permanently, because Smith lives in a retirement community that does not allow children as permanent residents.

"I could be evicted because of the bylaws," Smith said.

So, Mazura and Roman left her mother's house andmoved into a basement apartment in a home in the Lake Riviera section of the township last December. Their furniture was donated by a family friend. Her son's catastrophic illness has left her in a financial bind.

Mazura, 41, had to quit her job as a hairstylist. She withdrew from Georgian Court University, where she was working toward a degree in education.

"My life is directed by my son's needs," Mazura said. "It's going to take time."

Mazura's only sources of income these days are Roman's Social Security disability payments and the child support payments she receives from his father. She comes up about $400 short each month. The Ocean County Board of Social Services has agreed to help subsidize her rent, but only for a year.Mazura will have to look for a cheaper place to live.

She does not want to uproot Roman again and does not want to take him out of his special preschool classes at the Brick school district's Primary Learning Center on Chambers Bridge Road.

"I don't want to leave Brick Township," she said. "Brick Township is taking care of my son."

The Brick Policemen's BenevolentAssociation chose Roman as the beneficiary of the proceeds from its annual "Helping Hands" basketball tournament earlier this month.

"They really did such a beautiful job," she said. "It was so much fun. I was absolutely taken aback by the community. I was so moved and so proud to be part of this community."

Roman and his family planned to celebrate his fourth birthday on Saturday. He is considered cancer-free right now. His three older brothers, Nicholas, Jack and Matthew Weaver, his father, David Merlo, and a number of Brick Township police officers were expected to attend.

Any Brick police officer who wanted to come to Roman's birthday party was invited, she said.

"This is such a special birthday," she said. "I want to share the joy we have. I just really know he is going to be OK.He's doing great.He responded to chemotherapy beautifully. I'm expecting him to stay well."

But the trauma of the last year has left its mark on both Roman and his mother. Roman sometimes acts out.He's delayed in his social interactions.

"He has emotional problems," Mazura said. "It's the aftermath of a traumatic experience. He lost a year of development.He has some catching up to do.We really want to get him ready for kindergarten."

She attends a support group run by Ocean of Love, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping parents of children with cancer.

"There is help, and I seek it," Mazura said. "You can't do this thing on your own. It takes the fabric of your life and rips it out from under you. We are just trying to get everything back again."

Anyone who wishes to make a donation to help Mazura and Roman can make a check out to "Contribution for Roman Merlo" and mail it to Madeline Smith, 18 Andes Court, Brick, NJ 08724.