Although Jimbo Fisher and his Florida State University football team emerged victorious in the BCS National Championship on Monday night, he and his family are in the midst of an even tougher battle.
Fisher’s son, Ethan, now 8, was diagnosed with a rare blood disease known as Fanconi Anemia when he was just five years old. The Fishers were devastated by the news and sought treatment at the University of Minnesota’s Amplatz Children’s Hospital. Amplatz currently transplants more patients with Fanconi Anemia than any other centers in the U.S. combined.
A complicated disease, Fanconi Anemia leads to bone marrow failure which means Ethan will eventually need a transplant.
Unfortunately, the road to a bone marrow transplant is not an easy one. Before it is administered, patients undergo chemotherapy and radiation and remain in the hospital for four to six weeks followed by months of clinical observation.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Margaret MacMillan, M.D., a pediatric hematologist oncologist at Amplatz Children’s Hospital, says success rates have increased over the years.
“We’ve been able to make successes in the past. Only 12 to 15 years ago, it was only 25 percent of children would survive a transplant. Now it’s 85 percent,” said MacMillan.
MacMillian also said they will wait until the transplant is necessary before beginning treatment.
Hoping to drive research efforts, the Fishers presented Amplatz with an $800,000 donation from their Kidz1stFund, a charity they created to raise awareness and fund research for Fanconi Anemia.
“I respect what [Coach Fisher] does so much and what his team does. And I know they respect our team, too,” said MacMillan.
For more about how Amplatz is helping the Fishers see the recent news coverage from CNN and WCCO-TV.
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