Last winter the Crompton family found out that they were in need of life-saving help, as a 14-year-old battling a rare form of leukemia stopped responding to his medical treatments. They've spent the last few months looking for that help, but now that they've found it. It's still a long journey ahead.
“I'm thinking about it, I'm already getting sad, but they're like this is going be the sickest you'll ever see him in his lifetime. That he's going to look bad.”
Kimberly Crompton says doctors are warning her of what her son, Jehvan, will be going through in the near future.
“I'm preparing Jehvan. Hey you're possibly going to lose your hair, you're going to peel, all those different things. You know it doesn't sound good, but they are assuring us that all the bad days will be replaced by good days ahead.”
Jehvan is set to go through extensive chemo and radiation in Los Angeles, with the hope that those good days are indeed ahead of him.
“They'll kill all Jehvan’s bone marrow, so he will be basically with no immune system, so a sneeze could kill him at that time.”
That's when the match comes in. It’s a partial match, but it’s a match for a blood stem cell transplant to help Jehvan. But little did everyone know, that match would be someone in the family. Jehvan's half brother, who recently graduated from Taft College, ended up being that partial match. But Crompton says It's very common, as many people never even find a full match.
“People are waiting longer and longer for a transplant and while they're waiting they eventually die because there's no one there. So with a half match, you have a better chance of survival. And it's a great success rate.”
Jehvans upcoming stay and treatment will be a little more than 3 months. Crompton says the blood stem cell transplant for the brother will take no more than a few hours to a couple days
Due to Covid, Jehvan will not be allowed to have any visitors throughout the duration of his stay. However, since he is a minor he will be allowed to have his mother with him. She will be getting frequent Covid tests.
“Once I go in with Jehvan I won't be able to come back out to mingle with the city and all that until he reaches a certain milestone. So, it's going to be different. It's going to be challenging of course. I don't know how to prepare him for it, but I'm trying.”
Although you may not be able to help Jehvan, at this point. There are still millions of American’s looking for their match. If you’d like more information on how to register and what the process may look like click the link below:
https://bethematch.org
