Walker and The Purchase Family

Please see below the most recent update (6/4):

Walker was supposed to have his bone marrow transplant (and Truett have his harvested) on June 1st. We met with the Doctor the Tuesday before we were supposed to be admitted for Walker to begin his conditioning (chemo and immuno-suppression) where we signed a large number of consent forms and went over Walker’s baseline tests. All the tests went well and Walker’s vital organs showed they were ready to handle transplant. We left that meeting feeling very good. The next day we got a call from the same Doctor saying one last test, ordered by an allergy/immunologist at Duke, had been flubbed by the lab and had to be run again. Even though the Doctor was pretty sure it would come back in our favor, they needed a clear yes or no from this test (if the test came back negatively it could have impacted if Truett could be his donor). The lab said they wouldn’t have the result of this test until June 2nd. We would have to postpone everything.

This was hard for us because we’d made very careful and complicated plans for child care for Marshall and Truett as well as a rotation between Chels and I for being with Walker during his stay. It was even harder for Walker as he was ready to get his treatments started. Now Walker and Truett (and Chels) had more time to dwell on what was to come. We were all a little frustrated and anxious and couldn’t understand why we had this seemingly unnecessary setback.

Well……..

We had to go back to the Hospital on June 1st to get more platelets for Walker and for Truett to give another donor panel of blood (a LOT of blood and he almost passed out again). When we got there, we received a text message from another Mom whose little boy was dealing with something similar and she said his procedure that was scheduled for that morning (getting his central line placed) had been canceled because the HVAC unit for the Operating Room suite had broken and nobody could operate. This is no small thing and completely disrupted the pediatric wing of the Hospital. Chels and I looked at each other and marveled at God’s timing. Walker would have been all chemo’d up sitting in a hospital room with ZERO immune system for days before he could get his transplant. He may have even needed additional chemo treatments to keep his levels down. We don’t know, but God knew.

Our new date for admission is June 14th and the harvest/transplant is the 20th. All in God’s perfect timing.

Previous update 6/1:

As Tom Petty sang so well,

“The waiting is the hardest part.” Walker was supposed to get his transplant today. His journey would take its most important step, but we’re at home waiting on this dadgum test to come back! Oh well… Please pray we hear something soon so we can get this party started!

Previous update:

Friends, we were supposed to go inpatient today to start the chemo conditioning and we had it all mapped out, but one of the tests was…I don’t know, flubbed I guess by the lab and we were pushed back two weeks. This was hard for us because we’d made some carefully laid out plans to watch the other boys, but it’s been VERY hard on Walker. Please keep him in your prayers as he’s becoming quite discouraged this is taking so long although most times you’d never know it. He surprises us every day.

previous update:

Walker's date for admission has been scheduled for May 26th. His chemo will begin on the following day. The harvest for Truett and the transplant for Walker is scheduled for June 1st. Please continue to pray and share! Thank you all for your love, support and generous donations for this family ❤️!!

Hi my name is Stephanie Davis and I am creating this Go Fund Me page for my dear friends, Eddie and Chelsey Purchase and their 8 year old son Walker. Their family is going through an extremely trying and difficult medical journey over the next several months. Any contribution to help support their journey and faith will be greatly appreciated. Please read the details below:

Chelsey and Eddie's 8-year-old son, Walker Manning Purchase, was diagnosed in April 2023 with Severe Aplastic Anemia and will require a bone marrow transplant. By God’s provision, their youngest son, Truett (age 7) is a perfect sibling match with Walker and so the family is starting the process for the transplant. Walker will begin a chemo-type treatment a week or so prior to kill off what little remains of his bone marrow. After that, the bone marrow transplant will take place, followed by several weeks or more of monitoring for infections, graft-vs-host disease, transplant rejection, etc. All told, Walker will be inpatient at Duke for two or more months. Truett has a few more procedures to help his brother, Walker, as the sibling match donor, while all along the way, Marshall (oldest brother, age 11) will be the encourager and big brother protector for the other two boys. Please help support this precious family!

There will be extensive hospital bills (even with health insurance) in addition to the costs of being inpatient at Duke (parking at the hospital; gas to-and-from Duke, Raleigh [Eddie’s job], and Apex [home]; care and meals for the other boys who cannot be at the hospital; other necessities; etc.) while also maintaining their home (lawn care, regular maintenance, etc.) in their months-long absence. We are setting up this GoFundMe to help offset these costs and enable Eddie and Chelsey to keep their focus fully on Walker without worrying about the added financial burden. If you feel led to give, please do. They will use the money wisely and graciously.

Most importantly, please join this family in prayer. Walker has good days and bad days as we all do. He is trying to remember that the good outweighs the bad. He has chosen Psalm 91:2 as his verse to speak and meditate on throughout this journey. Walker declares, “The Lord is my refuge and strength. My God in whom I trust.” He wants to share his Savior, Jesus Christ, and encourage others to put their trust in Him as well.