Jack was born on November 4th 2008 a healthy beautiful baby boy weighing a mere 5lbs.12oz.

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Our life was turned upside down when we had to take Jack, at 12 weeks of age, to the ER department and were told that our son was "very very sick", that they were going to do everything they could to save his life but, they didn't know if they were going to be able to.

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Jack was given an emergency blood transfusion through an IV in his head. We were told that his red blood cell count was so low that when they drew his blood it looked like pink lemonade and that as a result that every organ in his body was being starved of oxygen.

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After being stabilized Jack was transferred to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto where he underwent a battery of tests including xrays, ultrasounds, a second blood transfusion, an MRI, and finally a bone marrow biopsy to rule out Leukemia.

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Seven days later we were discharged from the hospital on the premise that Jack had contracted a virus which had temporarily shut down his bone marrow's ability carry out its primary function; the producyion of red blood cell.

 

As the weeks passed, Jack's condition continued to worsen and we found ourselves back at the hospital for a third blood transfusion.

This pattern continued for approximately 8 weeks until the doctors decided that this was no longer just a virus, and Jack was diagnosed with a  bone marrow failure condition known as DIAMOND BLACKFAN ANEMIA, an extremely rare disorder affecting less than 1000 people in the world.

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Jack is now almost 11 and is in Grade 6 at St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary School in Orangeville. He is the 2nd youngest child in our family of 5 children.

To date he has had over 200 blood transfusions and has visited the hospital for Sick Children over 300 times. This has become his "second home". 

Jack is an active 10 year old who on the outside looks perfectly normal. He plays rep soccer, basketball and loves his ps4. He does well in school and loves playing with his puppy Maui and 4 siblings. 

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Every three weeks Jack receives a blood transfusion to survive, and every night he must be hooked up to a pump to rid his body of excessive iron. He will have to continue to do so until a cure is found.  Living with Diamond Blackfan Anemia is one thing but what is even scarier is the unknown. The increased risks of other serious life threatening conditions is a fear we live with daily. 

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Thankfully Jack, although small for his age, looks perfectly healthy but he really needs our help to FIND A CURE  for this medical condition so that he can live a better life. Please help us.