No one could have expected that a little boy with a blood cancer condition called HLH would gain a friend for life from his horrific ordeal, but that's precisely what happened. Little Beckham, a fighter through and through, would be paired with a bone marrow donor who would ultimately save his life — and land him something of a big brother in the process.
"We ended up finding a donor that was almost the perfect match for my son," Bree MacGillivray, Beckham's mother, tells KTVB News. The bone marrow donor who would save her son's life was Boston resident Matt DiMario, who had registered to be a donor in high school and had all but forgotten his name was still in the registry.
But that didn't stop DiMario from signing on to help a little boy he'd never met. "It was never a question of if I should do this or not. It was more of when can I do this?"
Once the family connected with DiMario, Bree says, they moved to Cincinnati for seven months while her son underwent his bone marrow transplant. Her son is now in recovery, and recently attended Baldapalooza, a music festival and fundraising event for families of children hospitalized long term. At the festival, Bechham and DiMario, who met last year for the first time, took pictures in a photo booth and laughed like the best of friends.
"We've told him he's like his big brother and he helped saved his life," says Bree. "They've become an inseparable bond and they are super close now."
Learn more about becoming a bone marrow donor at Be The Match, and please SHARE Beckham's story if it touched your heart!
