He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia early last winter just as his hockey team getting ready for a playoff run. Instead of playing hockey, he ended up spending his time getting rounds of chemotherapy treatments and a year and a bit later, it seems Luke Boechler is doing better.
Now, well into the spring a year after the diagnosis, Boechler is back on his baseball team and was also credited with scoring his team's first run of the 2011 preseason.
The former Junior 'A' Yorkton Terrier goaltender and current Alexander Mens Wear Junior Yorkton Cardinal infielder spent Saturday afternoon at the Parkland Mall watching floods of volunteers attempt to provide a match in the 5 Minutes for the Fight campaign.
Boechler needs a Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant. They are hoping Saturday's drive will help find a match.
5 Minutes for the Fight was held in conjunction with the Brayden Ottenbreit Close Cuts for Cancer.
Boechler said at the end of the day at the mall that he estimates that about 60 people came in to help find a match for his blood type.
"I (was) asking (them) to join the fight by taking a couple minutes to become part of the registry and possibly save a life!" reads a quote from Boechler on the billboard poster advertising to the public the importance of the Fight.
The registry Boechler was talking about is the OneMatch international registry, which helps to recruit volunteer stem cell donors and maintain their information. They also help co-ordinate the collection and delivery of stem cells throughout Canada and the world.
For more information on the organization, log onto www.onematch.ca. According to brochure information, their goal is to find compatible unrelated stem cell donors for the almost 900 Canadian patients in need of a match.
"Everyone's important," suggested Boechler when asked if he was happy or impressed with the number of locals who flocked to the space in the mall where the efforts were held.
People had been lining up as early as 10 a.m., to try and support the cause.
"One more person could be the registry," offered an optimistic-sounding Boechler.
The 20-year-old had been through a lot of ups and downs over the past year. He has been able to rejoin the Junior Cardinals and said he was looking forward to the following day's matchup with Weyburn, where he said it will give his team a good idea "where we stack up" against other Junior-level teams.
In terms of finding a match, Boechler said there were two separate drives where a combined total of 30 people helped.
"I guess it was really good," he said, sounding both surprised and a little shocked, following this weekend's search.
"I'm feeling really good.
Boechler said that part of his recovery efforts has him making regular trips to Saskatoon's Royal University Hospital.
He said it's been helping him get back to the way it was before. He was seeing his Terrier teammates regularly be helping out at practice, and suggested that with the oncoming of the summer, he's getting back to the "way I'm used to be doing it".
He added that the "competitiveness" is definitely back now that he's back with the baseball team.
From Saturday's search, Boechler thanks the following for their help: his parents, brother Paul, Darren, Diana and Michael Hornung, Kim, Phil and Kurtis Decker, Matt Procyshen, Devon Byblow, Dylan Trowell and the Ottenbreits.
At any given time, hundreds of Canadians are counting on Canadian Blood Services to find them a matching stem cell donor.
