Clermont, Florida
Ethan Wright is a typical thirteen-year-old who likes to play video games. “I like to hang out with my friends either face to face or over the Xbox.” He aspires to one day be a professional chef. “I just like food and just all the concepts you can do with it.”
The eighth-grade teenager is battling Ewing’s Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer in his hip. “He had bone cancer in his hip that grew a tumor from it, and the tumor was pressing on his bladder and his stomach and that’s what was making him uncomfortable,” said Ethan’s mother, Colleen Wright.
Ethan says cancer is a scary word for people to hear. “It’s a word that people don’t want to hear and when they usually find out that somebody has it, they don’t have a good couple days after that.”
“We told him what he had of course. At the time he got very upset and asked if he was going to lose his hair. You know, they are 13 going through it, and they worry about their looks,” said Colleen Wright. Platelets and red blood cell transfusions helped sustain Ethan’s life during chemotherapy.
“After I receive blood, it makes me feel better. I have more energy the next couple of days.”
“I’ve given blood for years and never knew the amount of blood that cancer patients use. And it’s just very hard on their body. Without those transfusions, their body wouldn’t be able to do it,” said Colleen Wright. Ethan said he is thankful for blood donors for sharing the gift of life with him. “Thank you for donating and do it again please.”
He also encourages other cancer patients to hang on. “Keep on fighting a good fight and keep on going.”
Ethan is currently finished with chemotherapy and in remission. “Hopefully we can say that we’ve beat this, and we can start moving forward,” said Colleen Wright.
