Nathaniel Mariano wants to be a famous rapper one day -- but he needs a lot of help from others to make that possible.
The 9-year-old suffers from severe aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disease that prevents him from making his own blood, his mother Eva Cortinas said. Cyclosporine, the only medication to treat his disease, stopped working for him, and he suffered kidney failure.
Now his family is holding a blood and bone marrow drive, asking people to come out and help Nathaniel. "It's extremely important," Cortinas said. "It's to save his life and if they can't donate or are not able to, just pray because I just can't lose my son."
If a bone marrow match is found for Nathaniel, he can be cured.
The drive will take place on March 30 from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at BloodSource, 382 E. Yosemite Ave. People will be asked to place a swab in their mouth to collect saliva to help find a bone marrow match. Nathaniel's bone marrow has completely shut down. "It's just not running anymore," his father, Nicholas Cortinas said.
Nathaniel was a healthy boy for the first eight years of his life. It wasn't until last year that his mother noticed bruises all over his legs.
He was later rushed to Children's Hospital Central California in Madera, where he was diagnosed with the disease. Around that time, there were only four other children at the hospital with the same ailment. "It's a very rare condition," his mother said.
About three out of every 1 million people in the United States will get aplastic anemia each year, according to the National Marrow Donor Program's website.
Nathaniel has been home-schooled since he was diagnosed, and sometimes needs to be taken to the hospital up to three times a week, Eva said. "He's not allowed to be out in public," his mother said.
Nathaniel is on IV fluids for 14½ hours every day to keep his kidneys flushed. Despite the health problems, he maintains a positive attitude. "God has a secret surprise for us," he told his mother as she started to cry. "I know I'm going to get better."
His mother has submitted a request to the Make a Wish Foundation -- Nathaniel wants to meet rapper Eminem.He likes to rap. "I express my feelings," he said. "I want people to know how I feel inside -- what I'm going through."
And he also likes to tweet -- @nathaniel5150. "I'll tweet about what's going on with my life," he said.
His mother called him a "character" as she gave him a kiss. "He blows our mind," she said.
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