By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Community support for Chatham’s Ethan Hunter continues to grow.
After putting out the call to find a bone marrow match for the youth who is fighting cancer, 35 potential donors stepped forward to offer DNA samples in a clinic held at the St. Clair College Healthplex July 27.
A second swab clinic has been scheduled at Chatham’s Real Canadian Superstore for Aug. 17. An event at Sons of Kent that will see people shave their heads in support of Ethan is also in the works.
A GoFundMe account has also been set up to assist the family and a trivia night at Turns and Tales will be going ahead as well.
Mom Shara Hunter, who stays beside the youth’s bedside in a London hospital, said she’s pleased about the number of people coming forward in the family’s hour of need.
“We had 35 people offer samples at the first clinic,” said Hunter. “But there are a lot more who have swabbed and sent in a kit. We just wanted to put the word out and we’re still trying to do that. So many people are rallying for us and it’s absolutely amazing.”
The catch is finding a match. A stem cell (bone marrow) donor must be between the ages of 17 and 35 years old. Neither of Ethan’s two siblings are a match and his parents, who are both only a 50 per cent match and too old, don’t qualify.
The Chatham-Kent Secondary School student is battling a rare recurrence of lymphoblastic lymphoma T-cell leukemia. Diagnosed two years ago, the young man’s life-threatening illness was successfully treated and brought into remission, however, it reappeared this summer.
Only two per cent of patients in Ethan’s situation see the cancer come back.
According to Shara, it takes six weeks for swabs to be analyzed and the more samples collected the better. She said the youth, who is a man of few words, is holding up well.
“He understands why we’re doing this but he doesn’t like the attention,” she added. “I just keep reminding him we have to tell the story.”
As for getting their locks shorn for Ethan, at least one municipal councillor will be sporting a bald look at the upcoming Sons of Kent event. Coun. Amy Finn said she won’t mind having a close-cropped haircut.
“I’ll do anything to help that kid,” she said. “Chatham is a very caring community and we rally together to help others.”
The Hunters are continuing to work closely with Canadian Blood Services stem cell community development manager Chris van Doorn, who is guiding them through the process and helping with all aspects of conducting the swabbing clinics
van Doorn contacted the Hunters after seeing the article in The Chatham Voice about Ethan which ran in the Aug. 1 edition.
