6-year-old Middle Village resident Colin Flood (right) and his family are looking for a bone marrow doner after Colin was diagnosed with leukemia on Christmas Eve.
For most 6-year-olds, Christmas is a day to open presents and spend time with their families.
Unfortunately for Colin Flood, his Christmas was spent in the hospital after learning that a flu he was battling turned out to be something much worse.
On Dec. 23 of last year, Colin Flood was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, a type of cancer that produces malignant white blood cells in the blood stream and bone marrow.
Now Colin needs a bone marrow transplant to stay alive, as his younger brother, Brody, 3, and his extended family are not a match.
According to Colin’s father, retired New York City firefighter Kevin Flood, Colin first started feeling sick about two weeks before Christmas. He was battling a fever that a doctor said was only temporary and would go away soon. Eleven days after the initial diagnosis, Kevin said that Colin still had a fever of about 104 degrees. The doctor asked Kevin and Colin’s mother, Jennifer Flood, to bring him in for some blood tests. Within hours of bringing Colin to the hospital, they discovered that he had leukemia, just one day before Christmas Eve.
Kevin said that he was in total shock when he heard news of Colin’s disease.
“We thought the worst it could have been was pneumonia; we never thought it was leukemia,” Kevin said.
Colin was officially diagnosed on Christmas Eve, and he underwent surgery the next day to put a port in his chest where he would get chemotherapy. By Christmas afternoon, he was getting his first dose of chemotherapy. According to Kevin, doctors wanted him to get started on that right away as 90 percent of Colin’s blood cells were leukemia cells.
Kevin said that their lives have changed dramatically since that day. They spend days and nights in the hospital, Jennifer is unable to work at her job and Colin can’t do things that a healthy 6-year-old could do on a daily basis.
“We thought we had a perfect life back then,” Kevin said. “Now it’s just changed completely.”
Now they have to worry about making sure Colin doesn’t get sick while he’s undergoing chemotherapy. They have hand sanitizer installed right as you enter their home. Colin’s parents have to monitor what Colin eats on a daily basis and guard against themselves and others from spreading germs, as Colin could easily get sick.
Then there is the impending mountain of hospital bills that the family must pay. Although Kevin said he wasn’t sure how much the family would have to pay in total for all the medical-related services, they already owe $10,000 for the first hospital stay at North Shore- Long Island Jewish. He added that it costs another $10,000 to find a match in the bone marrow registry. Kevin said that he’s more concerned with caring for their son at the moment, and they’ll deal with the costs later.
“It’s going to add up, we know it, but that’s secondary right now,” Kevin said. “But I heard that it’s very costly out of your pocket.”
This is only the beginning for Colin and his fight against leukemia. Last week, he spent his first full week back at their Middle Village home after undergoing two rounds of chemotherapy. He had his first play date over the house for the first time in about 50 days, according to Kevin.
Crying was heard from the living room where the three kids were playing. Brody was unhappy over a toy dispute with Colin. Although most parents don’t like to hear their child crying, Kevin felt that it gave him a sense of normalcy, something that will be few and far between in the coming months ahead.
“It’s good to hear that, believe me. I’m happy to hear that,” Kevin said referring to the crying.
In order to help Colin find someone that can give him a bone marrow transplant, the family will host a bone marrow drive at Our Lady of Hope Catholic School at 61-21 71 Street in Middle Village, on Saturday, Feb. 18 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Anyone that’s in good health and between the ages of 18 and 55 is eligible to be a potential donor. To be in the registry, all you do is swab the inside of your cheek. The procedure takes a few minutes and could save someone’s life.
For more information on the registry or to request an online kit visit www.getswabbed.org.
By Luis Gronda
Colin Flood, a 6-year-old boy from Middle Village, was diagnosed acute lymphocytic leukemia in December. His family is hosting a bone marrow drive on Saturday, Feb. 18 in hopes of finding of potential donor.
