PHILADELPHIA (WSVN) — A four-year-old boy in Pennsylvania is setting out to save the lives of his infant brothers by undergoing a bone marrow transplant.
The Pownhall family said their twin babies Santino and Giovanni, born prematurely at 33 weeks back in October, have been diagnosed with Chronic Granulomatous Disease. Fox 29 reports that rare immune disorder mainly affects boys and can be fatal, since it renders the body unable to fight certain infections.
The twins are in dire need of a bone marrow transplant in order to save their lives. Doctors determined that the Pownhall’s son Michael was a match for both of his infant brothers.
The boys’ mother Robin told her four-year-old son that the painful bone marrow transplant would hurt, but would help his brothers get healthy.
[protected-iframe id=”2e166c305aec8fea4c9c75c36686f6c2-110336915-112670968″ info=”https://w3.cdn.anvato.net/player/prod/v3/anvload.html?key=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%3D” width=”480″ height=”270″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” webkitallowfullscreen=”” mozallowfullscreen=”” allowfullscreen=””]
“He said, ‘Is it going to save them?’ We said ‘yes’ and he said, ‘Okay, I’ll do it then!’” Robin recounted to the station.
“He could have said, ‘No mommy, I’m too scared and I don’t want to,’ but he’s ready to go and he’s our real life superhero,” she told Fox 29.
The Pownhall’s oldest son Dominick, now 9, was also born with CGD, but is considered cured after he received a stem cell donation from an outside match. Michael, however, does not have the disease.
Michael is scheduled to undergo the transplant surgery on March 8 at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Just hours afterward, the family says he will be able to watch his baby brothers get their infusions.
“He goes to the doctor when he gets the labs for the pre-testing and he says, ‘Look how strong I am,’ and he gives them willingly his arm to get blood work,” his mother said. “The nurses are amazed. They’re like, ‘I cannot believe how brave he is,’ and he really is. It gives me chills.”
Relatives have set up a GoFundMe page to help the family with medical expenses and bills. To donate, click here.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.