Young boy who survived Leukemia meets bone marrow donor

TROY, Ny. (NEWS10) – A boy who has survived Leukemia had a very exciting and memorable moment as he was able to meet his bone barrow donor for the very first time at the Knickerbacker Arena.

A lot of people were holding up signs and cheering on the donor. In fact, thanks to the Capital Cup for Kids, a charity hockey tournament, they were the ones who covered the expenses to make the reunion happen.

The Knickerbacker hockey arena might have been a bit chilly, but the warmth was felt from many people’s hearts, and all them were thanking 29-year-old Justin Painter.

Flying all the way from Florida with his wife, he couldn’t pass up the chance to meet the boy whose life he saved.

“I’m just happy to see him healthy and running around, acting like a normal little kid,” said Painter.

Chase Foley, who is now 4-years-old, was a bit shy at first. But just minutes later, he warmed up and even took on a hockey match.

“Even the doctor says it’s incredible how fast it happened, how well he recovered from it,” said Chase’s mom Liz Foley.

Diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at one month old, Chase’s mother almost lost hope.

“They told us his only chance was a bone marrow transplant,” said Liz Foley.

After several blood tests within the family, nobody was a match. Doctors then turned to the registry and came across Justin.

Chase is a 99% donor of blood and marrow which means the transplant was a great success.

“He’s family now. I owe him more than he’ll ever know,” said Liz Foley.

To top off the good news, Chase is currently enjoying pre-school and said he can’t wait for his team to play at this year’s Capital Cup.