Earlier this year, the Honoway family noticed their three-year-old son, Lincoln, wasn’t feeling well.

“Lincoln was pale at the beginning of February,” said Erica Honoway, Lincoln’s mother. “We took him to the doctor not overly concerned, thinking he was a little bit anemic or something.”

Doctors originally thought the boy had leukemia. But, after extensive tests, Lincoln was diagnosed with aplastic anemia.

“His bone marrow doesn’t produce the red cells, white cells or platelets that his body needs,” Honoway said. “So, he’s been living off blood transfusions.”

Lincoln needs a bone marrow transplant. None of his three siblings were a match, so he was added to a bone marrow registry.

Tameko Kazema is a friend of the Honoway family. She wasn’t eligible to be a donor for Lincoln, but wanted to help in whatever way she could. She owns the Minds Eye Yoga Center and organized a yoga fundraiser for the family.

“This is going to alleviate some of the financial stress,” Kazemo said. “We’re really looking forward to bringing the community together so that we can help to be supportive and encouraging as this little guy is moving through his journey to health.”

Canadian Blood Services was on site for the event. Anyone attending the fundraiser could book a blood donation appointment or perform a cheek swab for the OneMatch program. OneMatch is an international database of stem cell and bone marrow donors between the ages of 17 and 35.

Honoway encourages anyone who is eligible to consider joining the database.

“It would give you the chance to save someone’s life,” she said.

There is hope for Lincoln’s future. They have found a bone marrow donor for Lincoln. He and his mother will be heading to Calgary at the end of August to prepare for the procedure on September 8.

“There’s a stranger somewhere in the world who’s about to save my three-year-old’s life,” Honoway said. “It’s amazing, they’re giving him a second chance.”