Cary boy's bone marrow transplant fails, needs another donor
CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Seventeen-month-old Deklan Galvanek's survival depends upon the national bone marrow registry following an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant from his mother Jenna earlier this year. The outcome guarantees Deklan's dad Evan will not be a match either.
"It was just kind of weird that a complete stranger could be better suited to save Deklan than me or Evan," said Jenna from the front yard of the family's Cary home.
In February, doctors at Duke diagnosed Deklan with the rare and potentially fatal Severe Combined Immunodeficiency known as "Bubble Boy" disease. His parents have turned their home into a sterile bubble, stringently regulating cleanliness and who comes and goes.
"The garage is kind of the staging area, everybody takes their shoes off," Jenna explained. "We wipe down boxes and bags and anything that's going to be coming into the house we try our best to clean."
The house is also outfitted with soaps, wipes and hand-sanitizer dispensers throughout and an air-purifying system. They are the ultimate safety measures to keep the toddler healthy and infection-free ever since he was first diagnosed with lacking an immune system earlier this year.
The lifestyle has taken its toll on the family.
"I thought we'd be going to the zoo and the aquarium," explained Jenna, "but I'm in the house all day with Deklan."
What's especially hard is not being able to participate in playdates or take the little boy outdoors to play.
"He would look out the window, and we would say, 'That's outside, outside,' every day so naturally now his first word, 'outside, outside.' That's heart crushing," said Evan.
Between the setback of a failed marrow match and $2 million in medical bills, the Galvaneks have gotten by with an outpouring of support from friends, Deklan's innocent joy, and now prayers during a desperate wait for the perfect match to surface from the bone marrow registry.
"That's the situation we're in right now. We're counting on this for his survival," said Evan.
The family is awaiting word about the status of multiple potential matches.
If you want to learn more about how to be a bone marrow donor, visit bethematch.org.
