A 5-year-old boy from Central Texas donated bone marrow to save his younger brother’s life after the toddler was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.

Jahseh Bogan, 19 months, struggled with chronic infections after starting daycare in the fall of 2025, his mother, Shanika Williams, told KHOU-11. By early 2026, Jahseh’s illnesses turned severe, with the toddler developing severe nosebleeds, chronic, high fevers and a distended abdomen. After a doctor referred him to the emergency room, he spent nearly three weeks in the hospital while doctors worked to determine the cause of his illness.

The answer was devastating, Williams said, noting “that was the worst thing that a parent wants to hear.” She added, “How did he go from being sick in daycare … to having cancer?”

He was diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML).

It is an extremely rare form of leukemia, with approximately 1 to 2 cases being reported per million, according to the National Cancer Institute, which says that a stem cell transplant “currently offers the best chance of cure for JMML.”

The whole family tested to be donors, but Jahseh’s older brother, Juelz, was the best match. Williams shared that once Juelz realized he held the key to saving Jahseh, he couldn’t wait to donate, asking weekly, “ ‘When is my doctor’s appointment to save my brother’s life?”

On transplant day, which took place on Tuesday, Aug. 18, Williams said that Juelz “was super nervous, he was scared, but he was ready, and he did awesome,.” But for the worried mom, “I was nervous …I was just like, taking from one child to give to the next … what are the risks? I was nervous. I’m not gonna lie, I was very nervous.”

Juelz is now back home and getting ready for the start of school. But Jahseh’s journey is still ongoing. “Through it all, Jahseh continues to smile, laugh, and show incredible strength that inspires everyone around him,” the family shared in a GoFundMe intended to support them, as they need to remain near Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, which is about seven hours from their hometown.

“I just have to kind of figure it out. I bounce back and forth. It’s hard,” Williams told KHOU-11. “Take it one day at a time. That’s all you can do.”