She's the match: Sipsey Valley fifth-grader donating bone marrow to her brother
Sipsey Valley Middle School fifth-grade student Paisley Milligan is giving bone marrow to her brother, seventh-grader Shelton Milligan who is battling aplastic anemia, a condition that occurs when the body stops producing enough new blood cells. On Wednesday, the school honored them on the first day of school with a parade in the school parking lot.
While neither student could be in school, and Shelton will likely miss the whole school year, their classmates turned out to cheer them on as they were driven around by their parents in a short parade through the school parking lot. Shelton begins chemotherapy treatment soon so his body does not reject the transplant. The procedures will be done at Children's of Alabama hospital in Birmingham.
After parading through the lot, Shelton said he was excited to see all his friends out to cheer for him and his sister.
"I appreciate what she is doing for me," Shelton said, referring to sister's willingness to be a donor.
When he his treatments are complete and he is back to normal, Shelton said he wants to play baseball again. "I want to go back onto that field."
According to the National Institute of Health, aplastic anemia is a rare blood condition that happens when the bone marrow cannot make enough blood cells to keep the body healthy. The disease occurs because of damage to T-cells in the bone marrow, which is the body's blood-making factory. A bone marrow transplant cures some patients.
Paisley was tested along with an older brother who is a senior at Sipsey Valley High and doctors found that she was a 100% match. Siblings are the preferred do70561147007nors, according to family friend Tammy Plowman, who is a teacher at Sipsey Valley Middle School.
"People had to be tested and the doctors told the family it is usually best to get bone marrow from siblings. He has a brother at the high school, but Paisley was actually a 100% match so she will be the one giving the marrow," Plowman said.
"She was a little nervous at first, but I told her, baby, you got this. I think she is OK now, but she is 9 (years old) and it is scary," Plowman said, adding that she had been tested as had both parents but it was Paisley who was the perfect donor.
"I'm really happy that I was a match with him. We get to be together a lot more and we get to do fun things together," Paisley said. "I'm fine with it, but I know it is hard. To look on the bright side of it, I think it is bringing us closer together."
"At first, she was a little scared," Plowman said. "She knew she was giving the marrow to help her brother, but I guess just the anxiety of what she was going to have to go through to do it worried her. That would scare me, much less a 9-year-old. Now she's happy that she is there for him. They are a close family."
Brittany and Jarrod Milligan are the children's parents and Brittany is a teacher at Buhl Elementary. She is very likely going to have to miss the entire school year since Shelton's hospitalization will last for several months after the procedure. Plowman said that other teachers in the system can help by donating sick days to Brittany.
Plowman said other fundraising efforts have been going on. Her daughter created a T-shirt to sell, and they raised $1,100 for the family. Other fundraisers have also taken place in the community as people across the area have pitched in to help.
"We're trying to help them because we know it is going to be expensive while they have to be up there," Plowman said.
Reach Gary Cosby Jr. at gary.cosby@tuscaloosanews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Parade honors Sipsey Valley siblings before bone marrow transplant
