So Touching As A Teen Brother Donates Bone Marrow To Save His Brothers Lives

There is nothing like family, they could be annoying sometime, but they are all you got. You complain about your family? Then imagine yourself as an orphan. 15 year old Joshua showed what love is all about when he took the step of donating his bone marrow to his older twin brothers.

Doing this honourable thing wasn't out of compulsion, rather was out of love for his brothers who have the sickle cell gene. Ironically, Joshua wasn't expected to live as his mum was once advised to undergo abortion when she was pregnant with him, because the doctor found a cyst on his heart and quickly concluded that he won't live. This is my God at work!!!!

The Buchanan Boys

Read excerpt below;

Kristine Buchanan has five sons. When she was pregnant with her youngest, Jonathan, they found a cyst on his heart and predicted he wouldn’t live. Fifteen years later, not only is Jonathan healthy, he is a perfect match to donate bone marrow to his older twin brothers who have sickle cell anemia. In and out of the hospital and on pain medication for most of their lives, Josh and Jordan are now able to develop healthy blood cells thanks to the transplants of their younger brother.

Jonathan donated to Josh last October and this past Wednesday, he went on to donate to Jordan. The boys played Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who would get their transplant first.

Growing up, the twins missed out on a lot of physical activities and even struggled through school as their pain medications kept them very tired. Even before donating, Jonathan had grown used to looking after his brothers when they were sick and making sure they took the medicine they needed. ”It was really hard at times (growing up). Most of the time, they would get sick or couldn’t go outside,” he said.

Jordan and Josh were 17 days old when Buchanan, now 44, learned her boys were sick. She knew she carried the sickle-cell gene but didn't know the implications. Her two oldest boys were born healthy, so doctors never checked to see whether her ex-husband also carried the trait.

"For the first few years, I was in denial," Buchanan said. "I couldn't accept that my boys had this disease."

Shortly after the twins were born, Buchanan and her then-husband of 10 years began to grow apart because of the stress. During the separation, she realized she was pregnant with Jonathan.

"The doctors told me to abort him because of the cyst on his heart, but I couldn't do that," she said. "Here you have the child who wasn't supposed to be here, and now he's the perfect match for his brothers."

It wasn't easy for the boys growing up. The twins were in the hospital often, and the family had to skip holidays, birthdays and vacations, Buchanan said. When the boys wound up in the hospital, Buchanan's sister and ex-husband helped take care of Jonathan and his two oldest brothers.

"It's been very lonely having kids who get sick all of the time," she said. "I'm a single mother. You don't make plans, you can't date, you can't hold a job or see friends"

Today, both brothers are cured of the disease as Jordan recovers and his body adjusts to the transplant. He will need to be weaned off of the painkillers just as Josh was after his procedure. Jonathan, who has never asked for attention or gloated, admits that he would donate his marrow a million times to help his brother get better.

Irony of life.. The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone..God is awesome..