ALAMEDA, California - He’s a bit shy, but like most 5-year-olds, Shaun Dizon enjoys video games and being with friends. Unfortunately he can’t leave his home. Six weeks ago Dizon was diagnosed with juvenile leukemia.

“It was hard for us, but we got into fight mode, and said we’re going to fight this, we’re going to beat this.” Liezl Dizon-Villacarte, Shaun’s sister, said.

Dizon can bleed at any moment. His blood cell level can drop, forcing him to go to the hospital several times a week.

This form of leukemia is immune to chemotherapy, and only 5% of patients survive. The only cure is a bone marrow transplant but only half of transplant recipients go on to survive.

Doctors say that Shaun remains strong, attentive, and hasn’t lost his appetite. Liezl says compared to other patients, Shaun has not deteriorated too much, but his level of energy is definitely different from before.

Shaun is not yet aware of what’s happening with him. “Shaun just says, ‘Mommy, tell me later what’s going on so I can understand,’ so he knows that he’s really sick and that we’re all fighting to find him a match to make him better,” said Liezl.

Doctors have found several possible matches, but it will take about a month to track them down and test them. In the meantime, the family will hold a bone marrow registry on March 23 and 24 at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

There are only 40,000 Filipinos in the national bone marrow donor registry. The odds of finding a bone marrow match are 1 in 20,000. The Dizons plan to host more bone marrow drives, hoping to increase the registry not only for Shaun but for other Filipino patients as well. Balitang America