Oscar Saxelby-Lee is a five-year old boy, a student at the primary school in Worcester, England. This boy’s childhood turned into real battle for his life since he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
In December, Oscar was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. This rare form of cancer threatened the boy’s life. The disease caused immature white blood cells to be released in his system. This causes lot of health problems. The doctors told his family that the possible solution is doing a stem cell transplant. The boy had only three months to find the donor and save his own life.
Luckily, Oscar was surrounded by some exceptionally good people. His teaching assistant Laura Senter talks about Oscar and his illness. She says that when the school found out about the problem, they were devastated. However, she added that they did not give up and all of them tried to help the boy.
The school organized an event in order to find the donors who can help Oscar. They decided to do whatever it takes just to save Oscar’s life. This event gathered unbelievable 5,000 people.
Sarah Keating, Oscar’s teacher, says that this is the first such case in her career. She has never witnessed similar case in her life. She joined Oscar’s fight.
The organizers made public announcement. They called everyone aged 17 to 55. The call for registration of donors was a real success. The family even raised some 11,300 dollars to cover the expenses.
It took some 200 volunteers to do the job. The first day 1,800 donors registered. However, the next day was a real surprise. Additional 3,000 donors registered in order to help the boy.
“Ms. Bladen said that nobody moaned, even though they queued around the block, in the pouring rain. The spirit and generosity of people were incredible.”
The huge number of registered donors surprised everyone. The large database of registered donors requires weeks to go through and pick up the most suitable donors who will save the boy’s life.
Lusa Nugent, the head of the recruitment, says that it’s very difficult to find the appropriate match because there are some 17,000 HLA characteristics to go through.
Nevertheless, Oscar’s family can now fight this disease with less stress. Knowing that there are donors and possible matches, they can go through the process more easily. Oscar is admitted to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and he has already taken some 20 blood transfusions.
Oscar is a funny and energetic boy and he deserves a second chance. The family hopes that among the donors there is a match and he or she will help Oscar beat this horrible illness. He is too young to lose the battle!
