Bone Marrow For Jerri

The young man that I want to help is Jerri. Jerri is 13 year old. He is an 8th gradestudent at  Col. Fred Cherry Middle School in Suffolk. For the previous  7 years he has attended Chesapeake Public Schools (Western Branch Area). Jerri has played soccer and basketball for Western Branch Rec Center. The last two games of the spring 2020  season were the hardest because this is when he started felling symptoms of the condition he was diagnosed with. He went from being a great player in the game to walking the court because of fatigue. His mother got him test for different viruses but results returned negative. The week of Diagnosis Jerri had become very lethargic, pale and nauseous. His mother calls the PCP and once seen by his Physician she notice that Jerri was losing blood by the way his eyes and lips appeared in color. There were minimal veins in his eyes and no color in his lips. His Doctor became worried and did a blood test  and discovered that Jerri's blood levels were 4.3. (normal blood levels are 10-11.5). So  Jerri and his mother was told by his Doctor to go straight to the Children's Hospital and that's were they received the diagnosis of Aplastic Anemia. Mannnnnnnn oh Mannnnn!!

**Aplastic Anemia is a rare condition in which the body stops producing enough new blood cells. This is a result of Bone Marrow damage. 

**Since his diagnosis Jerri has been receiving Blood donation every week since March 17,2020. This is the reason for a Bone Marrow Donor. 

**Jerri is in need of a Bone Marrow Transplant. This is the only cure for Jerri's condition. Aplastic Anemia is a very rare disease but can be cured with the perfect match donor if his body accepts the transplant. When Jerri starts treatment he will receive Chemo first to wipe his immune system completely to start the transplant process. This will bring on many new responsibilities as the family will have to stay very clear of Covid-19 and many other viruses and diseases. Disinfectant will be needed, more than normal cleaning, no raw foods, filtered water and cook food right off the stove just to name a few.