Alexandria boy in dire need of bone marrow transplant

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - An Alexandria, Va. boy is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant.

Typically, family members are go-to donors, but Jack Creedon’s case is different. Jack, 11, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in November of 2015. He was adopted from Western Siberia when he was 18 months old, because Jack’s family members are not genetically compatible – the search for a donor has been especially difficult.

FOX 5 sat down with Jack and his family. Lesli and Dan Creedon adopted Jack and Catherine from the same orphanage 12 years ago – they were born 12 days apart. The two are not blood relatives, but they’ve been inseparable ever since they were adopted.

“When we brought them home from Siberia after a 30 hour journey, we put them down in cribs side by side and they reached out and grabbed each other’s hands,” Lesli said with a smile on her face.

Catherine takes pride in being her brother’s caretaker.  She flushes Jack’s lines, helps make sure he is comfortable and talking to him like she’s his nurse.

The Creedon’s started their search for a bone marrow match in March. With no luck so far, an international search is now underway.  There are heartbreaking moments for Lesli and Dan but they say Jack is inevitably the guiding light.

Recently, the family has inspired a series of “swabbing” events. “Even if you swab and you're not successful you can be a match for someone else in the world who has this same disease,” Jack said.

Jack has been a fighter for the past seven months and intends to continue fighting. We are gearing up for the 2016 Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walks. The three annual walks are coming up in the fall.

Northern Virginia
Saturday October 1, 2016 05:00 PM EST
Reston, Virginia
11900 Market Street, Reston, VA 20191

Montgomery County
Saturday October 8, 2016 05:00 PM EST
Rockville Town Center
30 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 

Washington, DC
Saturday October 15, 2016 05:00 PM EST
Freedom Plaza
1455 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004

YOU CAN ORGANIZE A TEAM OR SIGN UP TO WALK HERE.

Anyone can support the cause to help Jack and others affected by LLS by visiting Be The Match.