SUNFIELD, Mich. (WSYM) — A local boy is thanking his bone marrow donor for saving his life after years of fighting T-Cell Leukemia. "It's a miracle.
Isaac's parents, Fawnda and Andrew Walker, felt helpless watching their son go through stints of chemotherapy, radiation, and time in the ICU at such a young age.
"It's torture," Fawnda Walker said.
"Yeah, it's very difficult because you feel like you should be able to protect your kids from things. And, in these situations, there is nothing you can do. So you're just sitting on the sidelines, just wishing you could help him, and you can't," Andrew Walker added.
Isaac was in remission for about five years when the cancer came back in January 2016. That's when doctors said he'd need a bone marrow transplant.
A few thousand miles away, one of Bailey Bond's friends urged him to take the "swab test" to be a bone marrow donor. That's when the match was made. Isaac received his transplant that April.
"Surreal. You don't know what to say to them. 'Thank you' is not enough," Fawnda Walker said.
"I was just super excited that someone could save my life," Isaac said.
After he was feeling better, Isaac and his family went to Texas to visit Bond. That's when they heard Justin Timberlake's song, "Can't Stop This Feeling," and started thinking of new lyrics.
"We just started putting the song together. I think that you (Fawnda) came up with the idea for...." Andrew said, "I got this marrow in my bones," Fawnda added.
"Yeah, like somehow that just fit. And from there, all of us would come up with a line. And we'd put it together and we'd sing it," Andrew said.
Isaac was soon starring in his own music video. His donor, Bailey, appeared via video chat. The family hopes this will inspire others to take the test to see if they are someone's life-saving match.
"We wanted to do the music video to inspire people to sign up on the registry for other patients who need bone marrow transplants," Fawnda said.
"Signing up to be a donor can ... it can save a kid," Isaac said.
Today, Isaac is healthy. He is currently undergoing treatments to strengthen his immune system.
For more information on signing up to be a bone marrow donor, visit bethematch.org.
