Posted at: 11/04/2009 7:12 PM
By: Sarah Swistak

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Local Boy Raises Awareness

(ABC 6 NEWS) – A little boy is looking for a donor to help save his life.  Now a new event could help him, an others around the globe, to just that.

"He's very respectful, very quiet," said Mayo Clinic Doctor Vilmarie Rodriguez.
 
"Very outgoing and he just attracts people to him," said Will’s mother Loretta Dickes.
 
"He's like any other boy," said Dr. Rodriguez.
 
Except 13-year-old Will Dickes has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
 
"My wife and I were just dumfounded. Kick in the stomach. Didn't know what to do," said Will’s father Steve Dickes. 
 
But surprisingly, Will did.
 
"Will got us going forward again. He was sitting in his bed, looking at the team and said, 'ok how do we cure it?’" said Steve.
 
That meant chemotherapy, radiation and steroids at Mayo Clinic.
 
"He responded initially to treatment, went into remission, and unfortunately went into relapse,” said Dr. Rodriguez.
 
Chemotherapy and radiation treatments were still options, but Will's doctors didn't think they were the best ones.
 
"We have to treat more aggressively and a bone marrow transplant is required in order to offer him the best chances for a cure,” said Dr. Rodriguez.
 
But Will was adopted from Korea and has no known siblings or relatives that might be a potential match.  Instead, his family turned to the National Bone Marrow or “Be the Match” Registry.
 
Of the seven million people in the National “Be the Match” registry, only 65,000 are Korean, making things even more difficult for Will.
 
"I was very scared and shook-up and it's like, 'ok, we'll just keep plugging along.  Keep saying our prayers that a match shows up,” said Loretta.
 
Which is why there's a bone marrow match event this weekend in Will's honor, to get more minorities on the registry, and hopefully find a match for Will.
 
"It's easy.  It's simple.  It's a painless process, and you save a life,” said Steve.
 
Mayo Clinic officials say all minorities are under-represented in the registry, so they're hoping this weekend's event will help boost those numbers.
    
The drive is from nine to three at St. Francis Catholic Church in Rochester.
    
Initial testing is easy.  They just take a mouth swab.