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Jonathan Pitre will have a quiet Christmas in Minneapolis as he awaits word from the Ontario government as to whether or not it will finance his next stem cell transplant.

The 16-year-old from Russell is scheduled to begin medical tests on Feb. 19th in preparation for a second transplant at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital — the only facility in the world that conducts the procedure for children with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), Pitre’s blistering skin disease.

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Pitre’s mother, Tina Boileau, said the family had hoped that it might have an answer on funding by Christmas, but that now seems unlikely. The transplant, scheduled for March, costs more than $1 million.

“It would be nice to know: ‘Yes, you’ve been approved,’ or ‘No, you haven’t,'” said Boileau. “At least then I’d have a little time to try to go back to the drawing board and raise the money or do something. The last thing I want is just to go home…