It was early August of 2017 and Justin and his family had just returned from a vacation on Manitoulin Island. A musician, 17-year-old Justin had a weekend of playing ahead of him when he started to feel, as he describes it, “off”. He noticed bruising on his arms and legs and had a feeling that something just wasn’t right. His mom, Lorraine, decided a visit to the clinic was in order, hoping that blood tests would offer an answer to their concerns. Bloodwork and x-rays taken, Justin and his family awaited the results. The call came at 9:00 o’clock that evening.
Justin and his family were told to head into the ER at Windsor Regional Hospital; the doctor from the clinic would let the hospital staff know that they were coming. Justin’s bloodwork results were described as “quite abnormal”.
When they arrived at the ER, Justin was called in right away. More tests were run, doctors and nurses asked more questions and, a few hours later, the diagnosis came. Justin had Leukemia. The following morning, he was sent by ambulance to Children’s Hospital in London, where the diagnosis was confirmed as Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
“Within a few days of being admitted, Childcan was there to offer us support,” Justin recalls. “They provided us with a hospital parking pass, meal vouchers, and other essential support we would need during this time.”
Justin stayed in the hospital, on B6, for the next four months of his treatment. He remembers meeting all kinds of wonderful people during this time. Music therapy was a particular stand-out.
“I am a musician and music has been my life-long passion,” he explains. “I was given my first guitar at the age of four and carried it with me everywhere I went. Music therapy helped me do what I loved most, even on my darkest days.”
The doctors came to know how Justin was feeling on any given day based on the music coming from his room.
“Growing up, I would entertain my family and friends and, when I was old enough, I started making a name for myself in the local Windsor music scene,” Justin says. His talent became a gift for many of the other B6 patients, too, as he filled the floor with music.
On November 30th, Justin left London for a bone marrow transplant at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital.
“I received new stem cells on December 8th, engrafted on December 20th and was discharged from SickKids on the 22nd, just in time for Christmas,” Justin remembers.
Over the next few months, Justin returned to SickKids for weekly follow-ups, and spent plenty of time in London as well. He and his family were finally back home in early March of 2018.
“We are so grateful to Childcan for supporting us through it all,” Justin says.
Fast forward to today, Justin, now 20, is two and half years post transplant. He has recently received information about, and been in contact with, his donor and plans to, one day, take a a trip to Germany to express his gratitude in person. For now, Justin’s travels take him to London for regular follow-up appointments – appointments that will become less frequent as he continues to do so well.