Family encourages blood donations after seeing its impact on their 4-year-old battling rare disease

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (KTRK) -- A family in The Woodlands is encouraging everyone who can donate blood after seeing its positive impact on their 4-year-old son.

Bernardo Wadgymar has spent the majority of his young life battling Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis. The National Cancer Institute describes it as a "rare disorder that can damage tissue or cause lesions to form in one or more places in the body."

His mother, Tamara, said the 4-year-old has already undergone chemo, radiation, and a clinical trial. He was able to ring the bell at Texas Children's Hospital, signaling he had reached the end of his treatments. Unfortunately, he relapsed last year and is going through another cycle of chemo.

The latest treatments have been rough on the young boy. Tamara said he recently required a blood transfusion.

"He had been down, and then the blood transfusion happened, and then he started to smile," Tamara said. "He started to dance on the hospital bed, and that was just amazing to see, and it was just a bag of blood that someone selfless gave, not knowing that was exactly for him."

During his battle, the family hosted a blood drive of their own, which Tamara said was incredibly heartwarming to see the support from their community.

"Once they were done, they would text me, and they're like, 'I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to give blood because it's something I've never done before,'" Tamara said.

Tamara and her husband have made it a point to start regularly donating blood after seeing how much a donor's blood improved their son.

"I think it's sometimes hard for people to be there for someone when someone is sick because they don't know really how to approach you," Tamara said. "Giving blood is just the most amazing, sincere, and selfless way to be there for a loved one who is having a hard time."

ABC13 and Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center are inviting the public to help save lives during the 27th annual ABC13 Blood Drive on Friday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Schedule your donation through ABC13 here.

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