Connect with us

Breaking

B.C. family seeks bone marrow donor for boy with leukemia

Published

on

MANILA –Lia Weekes and her husband, who reside in British Columbia, are appealing to potential donors who may be a match to their son diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia.

The whole family has been vacationing in the Philippines when six-year-old Joshua started having flu-like symptoms. Upon returning to Canada, it has been found out that the boy has acute myeloid leukemia.

“It’s a complete nightmare. Everything was normal and then everything changed… And now we’re fighting for our baby and he’s fighting for his life,” Weekes says in a CBC report.

Joshua has since been confined at the B.C. Children’s Hospital as he undergoes chemotherapy treatment and receives blood transfusions. In the coming months, he will need a bone marrow transplant. Finding a match, however, may be challenging because of his mixed ethnicity.

“He understands he has some bad cells that we need to get out. He knows he needs to be strong and brave because it can be very scary to have all these strangers poking at you and all of these beeps and alarms… But he can’t understand why mommy and daddy can’t just fix it,” she says in the same report.

Weekes is part Filipino and British while her husband is of Icelandic and Caribbean origin. Either of them may be a potential match but a successful transplant is more likely with an external donor who has a similar racial background.

“We basically want to appeal to anyone who has any of those combinations or any of those backgrounds to come forward as a donor and register,” Weekes calls out through social media.

https://www.facebook.com/kelly.faraday/posts/10153426891532895?fref=nf%20

Those eligible to register as a donor, consider seeing if you are a match by contacting the Canadian Blood Services: https://www.blood.ca/en/stem-cell/register-onematch

Help save a life today!

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maria in Vancouver

Maria in Vancouver1 week ago

Fantabulous Christmas Party Ideas

It’s that special and merry time of the year when you get to have a wonderful excuse to celebrate amongst...

Lifestyle2 weeks ago

How To Do Christmas & Hanukkah This Year

Christmas 2024 is literally just around the corner! Here in Vancouver, we just finished celebrating Taylor Swift’s last leg of...

Lifestyle1 month ago

Nobody Wants This…IRL (In Real Life)

Just like everyone else who’s binged on Netflix series, “Nobody Wants This” — a romcom about a newly single rabbi...

Lifestyle2 months ago

Family Estrangement: Why It’s Okay

Family estrangement is the absence of a previously long-standing relationship between family members via emotional or physical distancing to the...

Lifestyle3 months ago

Becoming Your Best Version

By Matter Laurel-Zalko As a woman, I’m constantly evolving. I’m constantly changing towards my better version each year. Actually, I’m...

Lifestyle3 months ago

The True Power of Manifestation

I truly believe in the power of our imagination and that what we believe in our lives is an actual...

Maria in Vancouver4 months ago

DECORATE YOUR HOME 101

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Our home interiors are an insight into our brains and our hearts. It is our own collaboration...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

Guide to Planning a Wedding in 2 Months

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Are you recently engaged and find yourself in a bit of a pickle because you and your...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

Staying Cool and Stylish this Summer

By Matte Laurel-Zalko I couldn’t agree more when the great late Ella Fitzgerald sang “Summertime and the livin’ is easy.”...

Maria in Vancouver6 months ago

Ageing Gratefully and Joyfully

My 56th trip around the sun is just around the corner! Whew. Wow. Admittedly, I used to be afraid of...