Jonathan Pitre was exhausted on Tuesday, but he found some strength while watching the Ottawa Senators close out the New York Rangers in Game 6 of their second-round playoff series. -

His white blood cell count rising slowly, Jonathan Pitre will have a medical test Thursday to answer a crucial question: Are the new cells in his bloodstream genetically different?

The answer will reveal whether his second stem cell transplant has taken root in his bone marrow.

I want to be excited but Im holding back until we know for sure, said Pitres mother, Tina Boileau, who has been at his side in Minnesota since the transplant one month ago. Once we know, it seems like well be able to put one foot in front of the other and move on.

The family is taking a cautious approach since Pitres first transplant ended in disappointment in October when doctors learned that his own stem cells had recolonized his bone marrow.

Thursdays test will determine the source of Pitres new cells by isolating his white blood cells and examining the DNA they contain. All of Pitres cells will have a pair of X and Y chromosomes, but doctors will be hoping to find cells with a pair of X chromosomes since those cells can only come from his mother.

Such a discovery would provide evidence that the stem cells donated by Boileau have taken root in her sons bone marrow, and have started to produce new blood cells.

Im really hoping for a positive outcome; I think were due for good news, said Boileau, who expects to learn the results on Monday.

Pitre, who turns 17 next month, has seen his white blood cell count climb recently from 0.0 to 0.4, which remains well below the normal range of 4.0 to 11.0. He continues to suffer fevers, pain and profound exhaustion.

On Tuesday night, he watched the Ottawa Senators close out the New York Rangers while his mother applied fresh dressings and gauze after his bath. It was the first time in his life, Boileau said, that her son did not have the strength to stand during the procedure.

We had the game on and I have to say it really helped us get through it, said Boileau. Jonathan got a bit of strength from the excitement, and it was just enough to help me finish his dressings.

Pitre told his mother Tuesday night that hes not sure if he can see this one through.

I said, Youre going to have to because theres no way Im going home without you,' Boileau said. He managed to crack a little smile and said, OK, mom.

The University of Minnesota Masonic Childrens Hospital is theonly facility in the world that offers a blood and marrow transplant as a treatment for those with severe epidermolysis bullosa (EB). If Pitres transplant is successful, his new stems cells will have the power to deliver to his injured skin cells that can secrete a missing protein essential to the development of collagen.

Collagen is the glue that gives skin its strength and structure, and those with Pitres disease, recessive dytstrophic EB, are missing it. The treatment holds the potential to dramatically improve Pitres skin and make his disease more manageable.

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An exhausted Jonathan Pitre will soon learn if his stem cell transplant has worked - Ottawa Citizen

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