In February 2011, Desmond McDonald from Wichita, KS who was 5 years old at the time started developing the symptoms of Aplastic Anemia. His family didn’t realize what was going on at the time but he was extremely fatigued, pale, had large bruises on his legs and a rash on his arm. They took him to his pediatrician who ran blood work which showed that his red blood cells, white blood cells and plat
elets were all low. This led to a hospital stay and an appointment with a local hematologist. After several weeks of not know what was going on with Desmond, the doctor finally reached the conclusion that Desmond needed a bone marrow transplant to cure him of Aplastic Anemia. His sister, Emma who was 3 at the time was tested and thankfully a match. On May 17, 2011, Desmond had his bone marrow transplant at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. He spent the rest of the summer with his mother and grandmother living at the Ronald McDonald House so he could be close to the hospital for follow-up appointments. His transplant and recovery went well and on August 5, 2011, Desmond and his family checked out of the Ronald McDonald House and were able to return home to Wichita. Desmond’s immune system was still healing so he had to stay in isolation until the end of December. During the week between Christmas and New Year’s to celebrate the milestone, Desmond was able to go to LEGOLAND in San Diego for his Make-a-Wish trip. In January of 2012, Desmond was able to start Kindergarten and regain a normal lifestyle. Three and a half years past and Desmond spent his time playing sports, reading, playing piano, video games, building Lego’s and doing all of the fun things that a 9 year old boy does. In October of 2014, Desmond started to get bruises and become fatigued again. His parents scheduled an appointment to go back to Children’s Mercy for testing. The results of the test showed that his platelets were extremely low. Desmond was diagnosed with a blood disorder called Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The doctors tried steroid treatment, IVIG infusion, and several oral medication but none were successful. Around the end of February, Desmond’s hematologist noticed that his red blood cells were becoming low and that he developed Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) on top of ITP. In March, Desmond underwent a port placement procedure so that he could be given weekly infusions of a medication called Soliris. Desmond received 6 treatments of the medication but unfortunately it did not increase his red blood cells or platelet count. During this time, Desmond had to receive several blood and platelet transfusions to keep him well. Unfortunately, Desmond’s white blood cells started to decrease below the normal level so now all 3 of his blood lines are low. The doctors re-diagnosed Desmond with aplastic anemia. Since the end of April, Desmond has been on an oral medication called Promacta which is the last therapy that the doctors want to try before a decision to have him go through another bone marrow transplant. By the middle of July, the doctors are prepared to make that decision. Desmond’s sister Emma and his mother are currently being considered as possible donors for the bone marrow transplant if that needs to take place. Until then, the number #1 goal is to keep Desmond happy and healthy. His family is passionate about spreading awareness of blood disorders and encouraging individuals to consider signing up to be a bone marrow donor.
