Five-year-old donating bone marrow to younger sister with leukemia
Clayton Nicholson may not fully comprehend that he’s about to save his sister’s life -- he just knows she needs help -- and can help her by donating his bone marrow.
“There’s a 25 per cent chance he would be a perfect match for Claire. Luck was on our side and it turns out it worked out real well for us,” says Clayton and Claire’s mom, Mandy Nicholson.
Next week, two-year-old Claire will be heading to a Toronto hospital in order to receive a bone marrow transplant from her five-year-old brother.
It’s a procedure that will hopefully save her life -- a life that’s been spent mostly in hospital -- after the talkative toddler was diagnosed with leukemia days before her first birthday.
“She is going to go through some pretty intense chemo. They’re really going to knock down her bone marrow and make it stop producing cells on its own. Then, Clayton will come in and have a harvest done. They’ll extract his bone marrow and it will get transferred to Claire, kind of like a blood transfusion,” explains Mandy.
Then the family will wait, hope and pray that the bone marrow transplant works.
“Hopefully with any luck, no more leukemia,” says Mandy.
And that will warrant an even bigger parade than the one organized by the family's supporters for Clayton’s fifth birthday, earlier this week.
“He’s been great. Just puts out his arm to take blood, because it’s for his sister. He should just be sore for a couple of days after the procedure and then, well, it probably won’t slow him down for long,” says Mandy.
The Nicholson family heads to Toronto for the start of Claire’s intense chemo next week, with the bone marrow transplant from big brother, Clayton, scheduled for August 11.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.