OPELOUSAS — Ten-year-old Quandell Roby enjoys living life like any other kid until he started feeling ill three weeks ago. Today, instead of being in school here at Opelousas Middle, playing with friends, he lies in a hospital bed at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
"I hope no parent has to go through this because it is a lot, but I will say this: my baby is strong. Every time I get ready to cry, he is like, Mom, it ok," said LaQuanta Fontenot, Quandell's mother.
Isolated inside the walls of St.Jude are the sounds of an IV machine echoing in the background, a sad reminder of where Quandell spends most of his time.
" I miss my friends," said Quandell Roby.
"I remember I left work on a break to take him to the doctor on August 26th for a rash, and I have never been back since," said Fontenot.
It's been three weeks--of multiple hospital visits and bone marrow transplants; what was expected to be just a rash turned out to be something more serious.
"And from there, they freaked out and said, you guys have to go to women's and children, and so they did a bunch of lab work, and then they transferred him to our lady of Lake in Baton Rouge," said Fontenot.
From there, Quandell's condition continued to worsen, and he ended up contracting COVID-19. He was then rushed to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee where he has to be isolated due to his low blood and platelet count.
" If I do not have platelets, then I just feel tired all the time," said Roby.
After multiple test and bone marrow biopsy, Fontenot would learn from doctors that cancer was not the cause but a rare blood disease called Aplastic Anemia.
According to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Aplastic anemia is a blood disorder that affects the bone marrow. The stem cells in the bone marrow do not make enough new blood cells.
There are a few ways to treat the disease but in Quandell's case, he will need a bone marrow transplant.
"The best option for Quandell, they are telling us is the bone marrow transplant, because his body is not holding on to the platelets, so we just hope that his brother is a match and we are going to do the bone marrow transplant," said Fontenot.
Through it all--- Quandell remains a trooper, fighting for his life one day at a time with his family by his side.
"I just want to say I love everyone back home, and I just pray no one ends up like I am, and I just thank God for everything that he has given me,"said Quandell.
In a few weeks, the family will learn if Quandell's brother is a match; if not, he will be added to the transplant list in hopes of finding a donor. If you would like to help this family a GofundMe has been set up. To donate you can click here.
