Palermo & China Teen With Leukemia Finds Hero in His Brother
Heather Buotte Seigars of Central Maine recently posted a powerful photo of her son, Shawn
You see, Shawn's brother, Heather's other son, Jacob who splits his time between Palermo and China, was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2018, had a bone marrow transplant in May of 2018, and relapsed in January of this year. It was Shawn that donated his bone marrow to his brother last year as he was an exact match. It's uncommon for siblings to be an exact match and Shawn hasn't questioned doing whatever he can to help his brother in his fight.
Another transplant is off the table at this time, but what you see in the photo is Shawn's lymphocyte cells being taken from his blood to be given to Jacob for an infusion with hopes that Shawn's healthy lymphocytes will attack Jacob's leukemia cells.
Lymphocytes are white blood cells that are also one of the body's main types of immune cells. They are made in the bone marrow and found in the blood and lymph tissue.
Not everyone is as lucky as Jacob to have not only a selfless brother, but an exact match. Mom, Heather sent out a call to action for everyone to take a moment to sign up for the Be The Match Registry. Signing up costs nothing for those younger than 45 ($100 for those between the ages of 45 and 60) and you'll be listed as a potential blood stem cell donor to help save a life of someone in need of a transplant. Get more details on donating or join the registry at BeTheMatch.com.
If you would like to help Jacob and his family deal with the financial burden of having a serious illness you can donate via their Go Fund Me page here. You can follow Jacob's journey on Facebook here.