VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Eight-year-old Greyson Crowder has spent much of the last few weeks battling a disease doctors say can only be cured through a stem cell transplant. His family said he has been fighting since the day he was born.
"Grayson was a preemie so he was born at 27 weeks and he spent 57 days in the NICU so we like to think of him as their little fighter kid," his mother, Erin Crowder, said.
That fighting spirit was tested again when unexplained bleeding sent the family searching for answers.
"We got a call from the school that Grayson was having a nosebleed that wouldn't stop," Erin said.
"And then he lost a tooth the following week and that wouldn't stop bleeding," Erin said.
"They did some lab work and they told us that we immediately needed to go to CHKD," Erin said.
Doctors diagnosed Greyson with severe aplastic anemia, a rare bone marrow failure disorder affecting his body's ability to produce healthy blood cells.
"Found out that he has something called severe aplastic anemia and that's a bone marrow disorder that affects your red blood cells, your white blood cells and your platelets," Erin said.
"Only cure for severe aplastic anemia is for him to get a bone marrow transplant," Erin said.
For Greyson, that diagnosis has meant hospital stays, transfusions and uncertainty.
"It's been pretty hard for me because I've had to go through so much bleeding and hospital stays so it's been a lot and physically. It just is a lot of pressure on me," Greyson said.
Then came a rare piece of good news. Greyson's 5-year-old brother, Emmett, turned out to be a match.
"And we went through testing to find out if any of our family was a match, and we found out that Emmett his brother was a match, which is extremely rare," Erin said.
Emmett will donate stem cells to help save his big brother's life, a procedure that will require the family to temporarily relocate to Duke University Hospital.
"I feel really excited that all this bleeding and cell loss and everything is just going to stop," Greyson said.
As Greyson and Emmett prepare for treatment and recovery, their parents are also preparing for months away from home and the costs that come with it. The family is leaning on the community for support while focusing on their sons' health.
"I feel really grateful that so many people are out there that like supporting and I feel like I don't know how to thank them all," Greyson said.
"It's always hard to see your kids have to go through something like that. We're just lucky that he's able to do it and even at the young age of five that he's willing to do it," Erin said.
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