Meet Ethan
This little Avenger has some BIG dreams!
A Letter from Ethan’s Family
We were ecstatic when we learned that we were expecting. For months we thought of what we would name our beloved boy. Finally, we decided on Ethan Leon. Ethan - just because, and Leon - because we loved Lions. We knew we were naming our boy after an animal symbolic for strength and courage. Little did we know though, how soon he would prove to live up to it.
On May 11th, 2018, our bubbly Ethan, at 10 months of age, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with MLL gene rearrangement. Our world broke. Upon discovery of his condition, he was immediately admitted to the children’s hospital. He began treatment right away and was in the operating room within the first 24 hours to have a central line placed. We remember so clearly, the shock, the confusion, the fear of the unknown. We could barely look at each other without shedding tears. Ethan on the other hand - even after being held down and poked, even after being in the operating room, even after being swarmed by a number of people he didn't know, was still his sweet, innocent, happy little self. Seeing that changed our perspective on life completely.
He spent the next year and a half in and out of the hospital. Different medications, consults, blood work, all sorts of testing, blood transfusions, lumbar punctures, and biopsies became ‘normal.’ Regardless of all this happening, it didn’t change how cheerful and active he was. He continued to develop, he learned how to walk, learned new words, he laughed all day and slept all through the night. He loved listening to music, and loved playing peek-a-boo.
He was not bothered by anything related to his illness. He never tugged on his NG tube, never pulled on his central line, he sat nice and still every time he was due for a dressing change, being leashed (by IV tubing) never stopped him from circling the hospital room, and he actually liked having his vitals taken. He relapsed in February of 2019 and endured radiation, more chemotherapy, and received a bone marrow transplant in June. He was a champ and danced, laughed, and played through everything…
Pictured: Ethan is making sure that Thanos knows the power of a HULK SMASH!
“He found a love for The Avengers, and to date is still incredibly obsessed with them. He is so obsessed with them, that even in his sleep he will yell out ‘AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!’ or ‘HULK SMASH!’”
Pictured: Ethan knows ALL the characters, and has a collection of action figures that he loves to share with others!
A Message from Emergent Biosolutions:
Emergent BioSolutions is committed to Giving, Investing and Volunteering in our Emergent communities, and does this through our eGIVE social responsibility program, which is one of the ways that we bring about change for families and communities. Through financial donations and volunteer activities, Emergent works with partner organizations to make a difference and support the long-term goals of the charity.
Emergent Winnipeg’s partnership with The Dream Factory, a charity that transforms the lives of children with critical illnesses by granting their dreams, is one of those important partnerships.
Your contributions to Month of Dreams campaigns in the past have helped fulfill many dreams, like sending Lily to meet Hope and Winter (“Dolphin Tale” dolphins at Clearwater Marine Aquarium) and sending Matthew to have fun at Disney World.
This year, the 2-week Fundraising Campaign will run from June 12th to 26th. Help us to reach our campaign goal of $2,500 to help fulfill the dream of Ethan, a 2-year old boy who is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia and has a big dream to see his superheroes (we’d argue that he is a superhero himself)!
During the campaign we will raise funds through online donations, online purchase of virtual Dream Clouds, and an eGIVE matching donation commitment.
Let’s make more dreams come true!