Six-year-old Fil-Canadian Joshua Weekes has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. CONTRIBUTED
RED DEER, Alberta – Lia Weekes, the mother of a six-year old who has been diagnosed with an aggressive type of leukemia, is appealing to the public including Filipinos to consider registering as bone marrow donors.
Her son Joshua, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in February after returning from holiday in the Philippines, has a mixed ethnicity that doesn’t only include Filipino but also Icelandic, English and Caribbean, a trait that has become a major challenge in finding a match.
“We are appealing to the care and kindness of strangers to help our baby, to please consider registering as a bone marrow donor,” she said in an email to INQUIRER.net on Thursday.
Urgent
Any of the abovementioned ethnic backgrounds can be a potential match and finding the right donor is of utmost urgency, Lia said.
Joshua has completed two months of chemotherapy at the Children’s Hospital in British Columbia where the family lives. Joshua will undergo a third round of chemotherapy for a month before he heads into bone marrow transplant, according to Lia.
“As parents we are facing the worst nightmare a mom and dad could imagine. We are asking everyone to please keep our sweet boy in their prayers, for we know, with God and prayer, all things are possible,” she said.
On May 12, Joshua’s school, Howard Debeck Elementary School in Richmond B.C., is spearheading a bone marrow and stem cell donor clinic hosted by McNair Secondary School from 10 am to 5 pm. The event invites those aged 17 an older, including those in Grade 11 and 12 who fall within the age range of 17-35 to sign up to become a donor.
The drive is part of a string of events members of the local school are leading to support Joshua.
School rallies
Every bit counts in the campaign to help the 6-year old boy. This Friday, the help comes in the form of buttons, which will be sold for Canadian $3 each.
Dubbed “Button Up for Weekes” with a hashtag #debeckcares, the fund drive is headed by the Me to We Club, a student club at Debeck Elementary School. Grade six and seven students who are club members have handmade 250-300 buttons each with unique design. The grade-schoolers will be selling the buttons during recess and lunch break on May 6.
“It is a great way for the students to reach out and help Joshua and his family,” said Larry Hurst, school principal.
Hurst described Joshua as “extremely sweet, positive, enthusiastic and energetic boy.”
For their part, Hurst said the school staff will lead another fund drive for Joshua entitled “Jump for Joshua” in the school’s upcoming spring fair on May 13. A bouncy castle will be set up to welcome $2 donations from participants.
A crowd-sourcing page on gofundme.com for Joshua has also gathered over $31,000 in donations.
For interested bone marrow donors, an online registration is available through OneMatch.ca.
For donations, go to https://www.gofundme.com/joshuaneedsus