WATCH: A Tsawwassen teen’s fight for his life is taking him south of the border tomorrow. And as Jennifer Palma reports, it’s all possible because of a crowdfunding campaign.
After weeks of agonzied waiting, a B.C. teenager is heading to the United States to begin experimental treatment for a rare form of leukemia.
“It’s exciting. Every day something good comes our way. But obviously we’re nervous,” says Ross McConkey, whose 18-year-old son Kyle has been in B.C. Children’s Hospital for weeks.
The family is heading to Seattle on Monday, where Kyle will begin a new type of treatment that has shown encouraging results for those who take it.
“What they do is harvest a certain type of T-cell from his white blood cells,” says Ross. “They re-engineer it and he’ll come back in two weeks and they’ll infuse it in his body. And we’re told it aggressively attacks the cancer cells in his body.”
READ MORE ABOUT THE THERAPY HERE
For two years Kyle has been fighting a rare form of leukemia. At first, he was given a bone marrow transplant from his younger brother. While that was initially successful, the leukemia returned with a vengeance earlier this year. A second transplant failed, and doctors at Children’s Hospital told Kyle’s family they were out of options.
But after they found about the U.S. treatment, they put Kyle back on medication to extend his life and began fundraising to afford the treatment, which could eventually cost over $250,000.
Thanks to generous donations by Global News viewers, enough money was raised. Originally he was scheduled to enter treatment in December but an infection kept him bedridden over Christmas.
He’s ready now, and his family knows he will keep fighting.
“He’s very tired of how his life is right now, but he’s not giving up,” says Ross.
“I admire his strength. He wants to win.”
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