Family Ties: Fairfield Teen Donating Bone Marrow To Brother

FAIRFIELD, CT — In a moment so perfect it could have been scripted in a Hollywood movie, Fairfield goalie Will Capalbo posted a shutout in his final hockey game of the season before donating bone marrow to his brother Charlie, who is battling a form of leukemia. Will Capalbo, a senior at Fairfield Ludlowe, decided to end his season early once he found out he was a match for a bone marrow transplant to help his brother. He played his final game this week and posted a shutout in a 10-0 victory over Norwalk/McMahon.

In 2017, Charlie Capalbo (pictured) was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoblastic lymphoma T-cell Stage 3 soon after completing his senior season as a goalie for the Fairfield Ludlowe/Fairfield Warde co-op hockey team. Will Capalbo spent much of this winter shuttling back-and-forth to the Dana Farber Institute in Boston in preparation of the bone-marrow transplant, according to GameTimeCT.com. The transplant is set to take place on Feb. 4, according to a GoFundMe page that was launched by family friend John McCormick.

“Charlie is preparing for his next big step on Feb 4 - a bone marrow transplant from his brother Will, a fellow hockey goalie,” McCormick wrote in an update on the page. “Charlie has completed his brain boost radiation treatments and moved to the transplant unit. This week, he will start his total body irradiation (TBI) treatments.

“On a positive note, Charlie was able to leave the hospital for a few hours two weeks ago and see a Bruins game against the Rangers, his 2 favorite teams. It was his first time out of the hospital in 3 months.”

Leading up to his final game on Tuesday, Will Capalbo told CT Sports Now that he was excited to be his brother’s bone marrow donor.

“Once I heard the news, I was excited,” he said. “I was excited and wanted to get the process going because the faster it happens, the faster he’s back to normal, which means the happier our family is.”

See the full segment on CT Sports Now below and read more at GameTimeCT.com here. To visit the GoFundMe page, click here.

Main photo: Charlie Capalbo via GoFundMe / GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.