Ethan Woods

Ethan Woods is your typical, seven-year-old boy. Active and outgoing, Ethan and his twin brother, Aaron, are both Star Wars fans. He has a stuffed bear that he loves. It has many names but is most often called Landon.

When Ethan got a nose bleed one evening, his parents, Sandi and Alan, didn't think anything of it. Ethan had a history of sinus infections. So they took him to the doctor, and he was diagnosed with a sinus infection. He began antibiotic therapy and began feeling better within several days. Being an active child and one who likes to roughhouse and fall to the ground, Sandi was a little concerned about the type of bruising she had been seeing on Ethan's legs and arms. She attributed it to the sinus infection and decided to watch for further bruising.

The next week, Ethan began to get intense headaches along with vomiting, and he continued to get more bruises. That Thursday, he got another nose bleed when he was at school. This nosebleed continued for several hours, so they took him back to the doctor, where they did a blood test. The blood test revealed that Ethan had cancer.

Ethan was admitted to Children's Hospital, where he stayed a little over a week undergoing the initial treatments for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). He is at home now but is still undergoing chemotherapy and steroid treatments.

As part of his treatment, Ethan has received four platelet transfusions and one red cell transfusion. Before the transfusions, if Ethan bumped himself he would quickly bruise, and he would be tired. After the transfusions, the bruising stopped and Ethan would have more energy.

"He looked forward to his transfusions because it made him feel better," Alan said.

Sandi is a nurse and a blood donor. She understands the importance of the gift that is given when someone donates blood. She would like to say to people, "Please donate blood because it helped speed up the treatment towards Ethan's recovery. Without platelets readily available, we would not have been able to start and maintain his treatment as easily as we did. It was the difference between a week versus weeks in the hospital."

During his time in the hospital, Ethan always had his stuffed bear at his side. If you ask him why, he will tell you it is because "brown bears are for protection.