It had been a long, arduous journey for 9-year-old Colby Scott of Bridgewater, but with the help of his brother his goal is within reach.
He had beaten back aplastic anemia with the help of his 7-year-old brother Carson, who donated his bone marrow in March 2014 in a procedure that saved his life.
The disease, a condition that occurs when your body stops producing enough new blood cells, according to the Mayo Clinic, robbed him of his hair and time spent outdoors with friends and family.
By February, his hair had all grown back, he was enjoying small trips with his family, which includes father, Clark, and was almost well enough to go back to school full time when his mother noticed telltale bruises on the back of his neck.
“My heart just fell,” his mother, Lisa Scott, who is also a nurse, said on Thursday. “I figured it was a sign that the aplastic anemia was back.”
She was correct. In February of this year, Colby Scott was told that he had to gear up for yet another battle, even before he had really recovered from the first one.
“His face was just blank,” his mother remembered.
And then, his battle buddy stepped in.
“Carson didn’t hesitate,” Scott said. “He just stepped in and said, ‘I want to donate another time, Mom.’”
And so he did.
In March, Carson Scott again donated bone marrow to his brother at Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Lisa Scott said that the procedure was a success and the prognosis is good.
“It was harder on Colby the second time,” she said. “It took a lot out of him, but he was so strong. He still cannot go anywhere around crowds, and that is what is hard for him, because that means he will not be able to go back to school.”
She said that she had to give up her job at Houlton Regional Hospital to care for Colby as he received treatment at the Lafayette Cancer Center in Brewer and at Tufts. Scott said that friends, family and several communities rallied around her son, sending him cards, handmade gifts and quilts to raise his spirits.
His biggest spirit raiser however, was Carson. Scott said that since Colby was in Boston for treatment and Carson had to attend school, the boys could not see each other until the weekends.
“The minute Carson came into the room, Colby’s eyes just lit up,” his mother said. “Carson has really been the energy for all of us through this. He keeps our spirits up. He boosts us when we are down. Colby and Carson are as close as two brothers can be.”
Lisa Scott said that whenever she gets down, it is usually Carson that helps lift her up.
“He will step in and say, ‘We’re a family mom, we can do this,’” she said on Thursday.
The 7-year-old is also a huge advocate for people to get tested to see if they can donate bone marrow, according to Lisa Scott.
“Carson doesn’t understand why more people don’t do it,” she said. “He said, ‘I am seven years old and I have done it twice!’”
Now, more than 131 days since the transplant, the family is looking forward to future goals, such as fulfilling a wish through the Make A Wish Foundation to visit Disney World in Florida.
To learn more about how to get tested to become a bone marrow donor, log on to www.bethematch.org