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Dallas teen searching for bone marrow donor match
A 13-year-old Dallas boy fighting an aggressive form of leukemia hopes his story will inspire people to take part in a bone marrow donor registration drive this weekend.
DALLAS - A boy's life changed suddenly this summer when he was diagnosed with leukemia. Now, his family is counting on North Texas to help him find a match for a blood stem cell transplant.
A drive is being held Sunday at the family's church home, Park Cities Baptist, to find someone who can help save Pike Petersen's life.
The test is just a simple swab in the cheek.
"I was at camp and I wasn't feeling good," Pike said.
The 13-year-old hasn't been able to start 8th grade yet after his life suddenly turned upside down.
"We're at a high altitude, so we basically just thought that was it," his family recalled.
When he continued to feel bad, his parents took him to the doctor.
Blood work later showed he had an aggressive form of leukemia.
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Dallas teen searching for a bone marrow donor match
There is a blood stem cell or bone marrow donor registration drive underway for a Dallas teenager who is battling an aggressive form of leukemia. Chip Waggoner taught Pike Peterson in a Sunday school class. He got sick at camp and after he had to be hospitalized his family got his shocking diagnosis.
A shocking reality for the active 13-year-old and his family.
"I play football, basketball, and pickleball," Pike said.
Now his hobbies are being replaced with chemo treatments.
"After you get chemo, you get really bad mouth sores, and it's really hard to eat," he said.
What was even harder for Pike was recently watching his mom battle blood cancer as well. In her case, lymphoma.
"She's doing good. She's in remission," Pike’s dad, Paul Petersen, said.
Paul said Pike's cancer is more aggressive than his mother’s.
"Pike needs a transplant. He needs a donor, and without that, he will not, he will not…yeah, it's just important that he has one," Paul added.
Everyone tested during the drive Sunday will be in a registry. Even if people are not a match for pike, they may be a match for someone else nearby or on the other side of the world.
"I've been in the registry for years. I've never been called, but to get that call, I think, would be incredibly affirming, and to be able to save a life," Paul said.
Amy Roseman, who is managing director with Earl Young's Team, said only four out of ten patients diagnosed with blood cancer find a match.
Earl Young's Team has registered 22,000 people in six years, finding 100 lifesaving matches in the process.
"For diseases like leukemia and lymphoma, and they need an exact genetic twin," Roseman explained.
FOX 4's Chip Waggoner knows Pike from Park Cities Baptist Church, and showed viewers on Good Day Friday that the testing process is so simple that he could do it on the air.
Anyone between the ages of 18 and 55 can follow Chip’s lead and sign up too.
SIGN UP: www.dkms.org/get-involved/virtual-drives/gettypedforpike
If you are a match for someone like Pike, the process is similar to a simple blood donation.
"You never know, you could be the one person to provide a second chance at life for someone like Pike," Roseman said.
Pike said seeing people support him is giving him strength.
"Finding people around us that are helping us so much. I just see God mostly in that," he said.
The bone marrow registration drive is Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas.
The process is simple requiring a cheek swab and filling out paperwork.