Santino and Giovanna were born 33 weeks premature on October 14, 2017. Soon after their birth, their parents were handed the news that they had a rare disease that severely compromised their immune systems – even the slightest bout of sickness could prove fatal.
The usual route for sufferers of Chronic Granulomatous Disease is to be placed on a donor list – bone marrow from a healthy individual can often be the best cure. However, with neither of the twins’ parents a match, they needed to look elsewhere.
Fortunately, their 4-year-old brother, Michael, was a match. Given his age, his parents were hesitant to agree – after all, just how much of the situation could he properly understand?
“We were straight up — ‘It’s going to be a big needle going into your back, bud,’” Pownall explained. “We asked him, ‘Do you want to do this? If you’re scared, you don’t have to.’”
“Part of me was like, ‘Well, he’s 4. Maybe he doesn’t know what’s going on.’ But he did, and he was all for it.”
“We were in no way, shape or form going to push anything. He was all for it and we had a good feeling about it. It’s amazing — he’s so proud. Such a brave little guy.”
Despite the warnings, though, Michael wasn’t perturbed. He went in to have his bone marrow extracted, was put to sleep and then woke up no worse for wear.
Writing on a GoFundMe page, their aunt said: “He is perfectly well, playing and all like nothing happened. Giovanni received the bone marrow cells around 2:30 pm & then Sonny received the bone marrow cells around 5:30 pm.
“Both babies are doing well and sleeping. Now is time for their bodies to heal, with the new bone marrow cells to build up a healthy immune system.”
We’re happy to say that Giovanni and Santino now have no trace of the disease they were born with – all because of their brave big brother Michael!
What a selfless and courageous act from a 4-year-old boy. Michael’s actions could well have saved the lives of his brothers, and he’ll be able to savour that for the rest of his life.
Share this story to pay tribute to Michael! What a wonderful example of how a big brother should act.