‘Butterfly boy’ Jonathan Pitre cleared for second stem cell transplant
Posted Mar 24, 2017 06:27:50 AM.
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A local teen with an extremely rare and painful condition has been given the green light by his U.S. doctors to undergo a medical procedure at a Minnesota hospital, with the hopes of improving his quality of life.
Jonathan Pitre, 16, has fought back against multiple infections since a first stem cell transplant that did not take.
“When he had both infections, the blood and the lung infection, his body was on overdrive,” said Tina Boileau, Pitre’s mother. “It really had no idea what it should be doing.”
A second procedure will take blood and bone marrow from Boileau and transplant it into her son, with the hopes her cells will multiply and result in a much better quality of life for the teen.
Epidermolysis bullosa, or EB, causes Pitre’s skin to easily blister and become damaged, leaving the teen in an extreme amount of pain. Most patients who’ve undergone this chemo/transplant procedure have shown a cast improvement.
While the first transplant didn’t take, Boileau says doctors are confident the second will. She’s optimistic her son will be able to get some of his life back.
“Be able to go back to school, just like regular people,” Boileau told The Carol Anne Meehan Show on 1310 NEWS. “Being able to walk his dog or play with him, without being in so much pain.”
Pitre will begin chemotherapy at the end of the month, before the stem cell transplant in mid-April. Doctors should know in 14 to 21 days whether the transplant has been a success.
