Family boosting blood donations to honour son
Relatives of Josh Krystia seek to ‘pay back what people gave him’
Josh Krystia was much like any other active 12-year-old boy — until he wasn’t.
In July 2015, the youngster, to the shock of his family was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He was admitted to hospital in London where he spent the next seven weeks receiving chemotherapy.
He was cleared briefly, but then in late October 2015 was diagnosed with a second extremely rare blood cancer called histiocytic sarcoma.
Josh passed away on Dec. 3 of that year — just 133 days after his original diagnosis.
“With Josh, he had a short time from diagnosis to when he passed,” said his father, Doug Krystia. “But he ended up receiving a lot of blood products.”
It is for that reason the Krystia family has scheduled a handful of blood donation days in honour of Josh, with the latest one on the weekend at the Windsor Blood Donor Clinic.
Several dozen family members, friends and co-workers showed up to do their part and donate blood.
“With Josh, he was always about giving back,” his dad said.
“Unfortunately, he is not able to be with us, but this is something we wanted to do to remember him and pay back what people gave him and us.
“They gave us extra time.”
Josh received 10 units of blood in the first week alone after his original diagnosis.
Overall, during his health battle, the youngster who attended St. Pius elementary school in Tecumseh, received 170 different units of blood and blood products.
This was the third time the Krystia family hosted a blood donation day.
The first two sessions last year staged by the family totalled 121 blood donations.
Every available appointment was filled on Saturday.
“We absolutely love the support,” said Josh’s mom, Tammy Krystia.
“This is what gets us through. People ask ‘how can you lose a child and keep going?’ It’s by doing things like this. It helps us get out of bed and gives us something positive we are able to do by giving back.”
Josh’s family includes two other siblings — a 15-year-old sister and 11-year-old brother, who also play a role in helping to give back.
Together, the family also performs tasks to aid other local support groups that include Little Hands Kids for a Cause and the Ronald McDonald House inside Windsor Regional Hospital.
“It’s who Josh was,” said Doug Krystia. “He was a great kid who always believed it was important to look out for others and do the right thing. He never accepted nice things without wanting to give back.
“It’s important to us too because we know other cancer families who have children going through this and they need the blood products and support.”
The Krystia family also wanted to pay tribute to the local In Honour of the Ones We Love organization and local Canadian Mental Health Association’s bereavement program for parents who have lost children.