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Suffolk teen recovers from rare blood condition after searching for elusive bone marrow match

A Suffolk mom and her son searched for answers to a rare condition called aplastic anemia, and luckily, found the solution in themselves.

SUFFOLK, Va. — On a half-day for Suffolk Public Schools, it's an easy guess that you can find Jerri McClammy and his brothers at the local YMCA putting up shots on the basketball court 

"I feel energetic," McClammy said. "A lot more energetic."

For a seemingly normal after-school activity, Jerri has been looking for that type of normal for a while. 

“Oh my goodness, mentally -- to not be able to help your child, that's a burden," Jerri's mom, Marie Veal explained.

In 2019, Veal noticed that something seemed physically off with Jerri's behavior. At first, it was tiring easily when playing youth basketball, but then other symptoms started appearing. 

“Losing breath, ringing in his ear, stomach pains, he started vomiting," Veal said. "That’s when we found he had the diagnosis of aplastic anemia.”

Aplastic anemia is a rare blood condition that stops bone marrow from producing healthy blood cells, which leads to lower than normal levels in at least two of the three blood cell types, according to the National Institutes of Health. 

Doctors diagnosed Jerri at 12 years old.

RELATED: Doctors diagnosed a Suffolk teen with a rare condition. Now, his mom is part of the solution

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, only two of every 1 million Americans are diagnosed with the rare condition every year.

“Jerri was losing platelets faster than he could keep them in," Veal said.

Veal told 13News Now Jerri would spend as many as two to three days a week getting blood transfusions at Children’s Hospital of The Kings Daughters in Norfolk, often spending up to six hours per day there.

"It seemed like we were living in the hospital after that," Veal said. 

But today, you’ll find Jerri like any healthy teen. Because thanks to his mom, that’s what he is.

Veal and Jerri underwent a bone marrow transplant this spring at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Between chemotherapy and testing, the mother and son duo spent three months together as doctors replaced Jerri's bone marrow with Veal's. He's now healthier and stronger because of it. 

“He's more active now. Not having shortness of breath. I mean a lot has changed," Veal said. 

But this solution was out of need, rather than choice. To this day, Jerri never technically found a total bone marrow match, a persistent problem in the African American community. 

According to the organization Be The Match, African Americans have a 23% chance of finding a genetic blood stem cell match. For Caucasian patients, that number jumps to 77%.

So many in Jerri’s shoes hope a partial match, like his mom, will be enough.

Now recovered, his mom said he’s pushing to make a new basketball team. Pushing for his next normal.

“For him to have all my cells, we were already close, but probably a lot closer now," Veal said. 

If you would like to join the registry for bone marrow donation and help people like Jerri, click here or scan the QR code below. 

Credit: Be the Match

With that specific link and code, Be the Match can track how many people Jerri's story has impacted, and how many people joined the list because of what he has gone through. 

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