Canadian Blood Services will honour the lives of two young brothers, one who was saved by a stem cell transplant, and another who unfortunately passed away.
The clinic is Tuesday, August 8 from 3pm to 7pm at the agency's Windsor branch on Grand Marais Rd. E.
When Kristopher and Lisa Roehler had their first son, Christian in June 2007, they had every reason to believe they had a healthy baby boy.
However, a few months after Christian was born, the young parents noticed bruising all over his small body. After many trips to the doctor, countless blood tests, and many hospital stays, the baby was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disorder, Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome.
The disorder is extremely rare with only five diagnoses in Canada annually.
Christian did not look sick to anyone, and yet he needed a bone marrow transplant to save his life.
The family had high hopes when he was matched with a donor, and after chemotherapy, his body accepted the transplanted marrow sooner than expected.
Unfortunately, young Christian passed away in September 2008, just shy of 15-months of age.
Three years later, the Roehlers welcomed another son into the world in 2011, but like his older brother, Lukas also suffered similar symptoms. He too would need a transplant which he received at the age of three.
Lukas is doing well and has a playful attitude during visits with his doctors and nurses, greeting them with a wide grin.
