Regina boy returns home after stem cell transplant

Vonn Chorneyko has had a happy homecoming.

In a Facebook post Monday, the family of the 10-year-old Regina boy said things have gone well since they returned from Minnesota last week.

Chorneyko had a stem cell transplant in June to help him overcome Fanconi anemia, a genetic disease that causes bone marrow failure and heightens the risk of developing cancer.

“He’s so happy to be home, on all new medications and doing very well!” read the post on the Vonn’s Transplant Journey Facebook page. “It’s such a relief to be home and to have Vonn finally feeling like himself again … words cannot describe.

“This week he will (be doing) his at-home learning and we are excited to get back into a normal, joyful routine all together.”

Chorneyko was diagnosed in October 2015 with the disease. A bone marrow drive in February of 2018 set a national record for donors — and a compatible donor was found in February of this year.

Chorneyko had the transplant in June and continued his recovery in Minneapolis.

On Tuesday of last week, the family returned to Regina.

“We arrived into town late and the priceless grin on Vonn’s face as he curled up into his bed said it all,” the family said in a Facebook post Thursday.

The post said that Chorneyko lost a lot of weight due to medication he was on, so that will be one focus of his recovery.

“Vonn is to continue to remain masked and bubbled away from people and germs and will return to school after Christmas,” the post added.