Kristine Buchanan has five sons. When she was pregnant with her youngest, Jonathan, they found a cyst on his heart and predicted he wouldn’t live. Fifteen years later, not only is Jonathan healthy, he is a perfect match to donate bone marrow to his older twin brothers who have sickle cell anemia. In and out of the hospital and on pain medication for most of their lives, Josh and Jordan are now able to develop healthy blood cells thanks to the transplants of their younger brother.
The doctors told me to abort him because of the cyst on his heart, but I couldn’t do that, she said. Here you have the child who wasn’t supposed to be here, and now he’s the perfect match for his brothers.
Jonathan donated to Josh last October and this past Wednesday, he went on to donate to Jordan. The boys played Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who would get their transplant first.
At first I was really nervous, Jonathan said. I had to get all the shots, and I’m kind of scared of shots. But it got easier once they told me about it. I feel really proud to help them get better.
Growing up, the twins missed out on a lot of physical activities and even struggled through school as their pain medications kept them very tired. Even before donating, Jonathan had grown used to looking after his brothers when they were sick and making sure they took the medicine they needed. “It was really hard at times (growing up). Most of the time, they would get sick or couldn’t go outside,” he said.
Today, both brothers are cured of the disease as Jordan recovers and his body adjusts to the transplant. He will need to be weaned off of the painkillers just as Josh was after his procedure. Jonathan, who has never asked for attention or gloated, admits that he would donate his marrow a million times to help his brother get better.
I had a feeling when my two other brothers were tested and couldn’t do it (that) it would be me, Jonathan said. I prayed and prayed it would be me.
Read more about the Buchanan boys on USA Today and get a glimpse into their lives via the video below.
sickle cell awareness bracelet says
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