Ty McCullar: The Life You Can Save by Donating Blood
By: Marci Manley, KARK 4 News
Updated: December 19, 2012
The boy with big blue eyes sits on a color block rug, handed a ball by his physical therapist.
"Do you want to throw it, Ty?" she asked.
Ty, making a motorboat sound, tosses the ball roughly a foot away. He gets cheers from the room as if he had thrown the winning touchdown in the state championship game.
That's because Ty McCullar's life nearly slipped by before it even began three years ago.
"Ty's been fighting since day one," his mom, Lauren, said. "All of the things that other parents take for granted, we can't. Ty's life is full of firsts that other children have already had by his age."
Ty, diagnosed with two rare conditions from birth in addition to cancer, has been fighting an uphill battle for every breath.
"Just being able to walk or talk, eat solid food, breathe on his own," Lauren said. "Those are things Ty struggles with every single day."
Ty has spent his entire life in and out of hospitals, receiving stem cell treatments, chemotherapy and grafts. But one his most important treatments, is something any and all of us can supply.
"Without blood and platelet donors,Ty would not be here today. I can say that 100 percent," Lauren said. "During chemo, there were weeks where he would need two blood donations a week, or extra platelets. Without those, he wouldn't have lived."
Ty's aunt, Cynthia Sieber, only donated at work-related blood drives before he was born.
"I never knew how important it was until it affected our family," she said. "Now that he's been in treatment for all this -- I've met so many families who have this need. There's such a high demand."
So now, she and others make an appointment at the American Red Cross every eight weeks to donate blood for Ty.
"If he doesn't need it right now, then it goes to save someone else's life," Sieber said. "No matter what, you're spending an hour to make a difference, a real difference."
During the holidays, blood and platelet donations drop off. People become busy with shopping and travel and forget to donate.
"Everyone is busy anyone can spare an hour of their life to get in here and donate for someone needs it so bad," Sieber said.
Because kids like Ty don't get a break from being sick, even his mom takes a seat to contribute.
"If people don't donate -- there aren't platelets available. There have been times Ty has needed platelets we had to wait a day because there weren't any compatible with him available," she said. "Sitting there in that chair and knowing you are giving the gift of life is incredible."
Ty's conditions are not curable and each day is uncertain.
"Life can change in an instant," McCullar said. "So we take every day as a blessing. We continue to pray for the years to come and hope that's what we have in store. But we don't take a single day for granted."
His family hopes Ty's story will encourage others to reach out and offer families more of life's moments.
To see the full interview with Lauren, click here.
"Do you want to throw it, Ty?" she asked.
Ty, making a motorboat sound, tosses the ball roughly a foot away. He gets cheers from the room as if he had thrown the winning touchdown in the state championship game.
That's because Ty McCullar's life nearly slipped by before it even began three years ago.
"Ty's been fighting since day one," his mom, Lauren, said. "All of the things that other parents take for granted, we can't. Ty's life is full of firsts that other children have already had by his age."
Ty, diagnosed with two rare conditions from birth in addition to cancer, has been fighting an uphill battle for every breath.
"Just being able to walk or talk, eat solid food, breathe on his own," Lauren said. "Those are things Ty struggles with every single day."
Ty has spent his entire life in and out of hospitals, receiving stem cell treatments, chemotherapy and grafts. But one his most important treatments, is something any and all of us can supply.
"Without blood and platelet donors,Ty would not be here today. I can say that 100 percent," Lauren said. "During chemo, there were weeks where he would need two blood donations a week, or extra platelets. Without those, he wouldn't have lived."
Ty's aunt, Cynthia Sieber, only donated at work-related blood drives before he was born.
"I never knew how important it was until it affected our family," she said. "Now that he's been in treatment for all this -- I've met so many families who have this need. There's such a high demand."
So now, she and others make an appointment at the American Red Cross every eight weeks to donate blood for Ty.
"If he doesn't need it right now, then it goes to save someone else's life," Sieber said. "No matter what, you're spending an hour to make a difference, a real difference."
During the holidays, blood and platelet donations drop off. People become busy with shopping and travel and forget to donate.
"Everyone is busy anyone can spare an hour of their life to get in here and donate for someone needs it so bad," Sieber said.
Because kids like Ty don't get a break from being sick, even his mom takes a seat to contribute.
"If people don't donate -- there aren't platelets available. There have been times Ty has needed platelets we had to wait a day because there weren't any compatible with him available," she said. "Sitting there in that chair and knowing you are giving the gift of life is incredible."
Ty's conditions are not curable and each day is uncertain.
"Life can change in an instant," McCullar said. "So we take every day as a blessing. We continue to pray for the years to come and hope that's what we have in store. But we don't take a single day for granted."
His family hopes Ty's story will encourage others to reach out and offer families more of life's moments.
To see the full interview with Lauren, click here.
