Give for Texans – Ezekiel’s Story
Platelet donor provides Texas family with powerful reminder to B positive
Donors who selflessly give blood and platelets are lifesaving heroes to patients in critical need of transfusions.
Euless resident and Carter BloodCare donor Brian Luznak shared his family’s story and the life-changing effect of a platelet donor’s gift of compassion and kindness:
“A few months before my son Ezekiel turned two, his mother and I started seeing bruises appear in various places on his body. We assumed it was just because he was very active, but soon it became apparent there was a bigger issue.
When his mom took Ezekiel to his pediatric clinic, the pediatrician immediately told her to take him to the emergency room. We spent 10 hours at the ER, which, in a one-year-old’s terms, is a lifetime.
We found out his platelets were very low, around 5,000. After an estimated diagnosis, the hematology department sent us home for two weeks.
The bruising got worse.
When we came back to the hospital, Ezekiel’s red and white blood cell counts had dropped and his platelets had dropped to 1,000, super low.
He was admitted to the hospital. They did a platelet transfusion to bring up his platelet count to perform a bone marrow biopsy.
When the biopsy came back normal, they sent us home again, but things quickly got worse and he screamed in agony for an entire day.
We went back to the hospital and this time his platelets were undetectable. They sent his bloodwork to outside genetic labs and decided to perform another platelet transfusion, strictly for therapeutic purposes.
To our surprise, a kind of miracle happened. Quickly, his platelet count improved, his demeanor returned to normal, and the platelet transfusion seems to have been the saving grace.
We found a few months later that he has a very rare telomere disorder, or short telomere syndrome, which leads to bone marrow failure in most patients.
Ezekiel is 5 now and active and healthy. His bone marrow seems to be quickly aging more and more every time new bone marrow biopsy results come back, but he has not had any low platelet counts since the second platelet transfusion.
From time to time, my mind snaps back to being in that hospital room, staring at that full bag of platelets subliminally telling me to B positive.
It will always be one of my life’s greatest mysteries how quickly his health improved because of the act of one selfless donor. We never got to thank that person, so instead I try to donate regularly to make up for it; my hope is to return the favor to someone else in need.
If the experience has taught me anything, it’s to try to B positive even when everything seems to be going wrong. You never know when a hero’s selfless act will save your life or the life of a loved one. And, if you are able, maybe by donating your blood or support, you could be that hero.
You can make a lifesaving difference by donating at a Carter BloodCare donor center or mobile blood drive near you. Help patients in need by calling 800-366-2834 today.
Your experience as a Carter BloodCare donor or transfusion recipient can save lives by motivating others to donate. Please share your experience and Tell Us Your Story.