|
 Elijah's
Story -
On a cold, winter, December day
Elijah decided he was on his way.
He was upside down and six weeks early,
But that didn't stop him, the 18th was his birthday,surely.
He weighed only five pounds but his lungs were strong,
From the nursery to his Mom and Dad's arms, it wouldn't
be long.
Showered with hugs and kisses and received with joy,
Elijah wasn't "average", he was an exceptional
boy!
From
the time of Elijah's birth on, our families' lives have
been touched. We have learned alot about NICU babies,
people w/DS, disabilities in general, sign language, and
most recently, childhood cancer.
At
the tender age of eighteen months, Elijah was diagnosed
with AML (Acute Myleocytic Leukemia), subtype M7,a type
of leukemia found exclusively in children with Down Syndrome.
Although there is only a small percentage of this type
of cancer out there, it has been highly researched through
clinical trials. What they found in the research was that
DS children and this type of cancer respond well and require
less chemo. His protocol was six months of intensive chemotherapy
at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Spokane. At the
time, it seemed liked a life sentence! But as we learned
more and met other families with kids with cancer, we
came to understand how lucky we really are. AML M7 has
98% cure rate with little incidence of recurring! Not
so for a lot of cancers, some without even a inkling of
what to do for treatment, or, if there is a treatment,
it's a two to six year plan.
So
after a courageous stay at the hospital, through major
poking and prodding, Feb. 2005, Elijah was released with
a clean bill of health! During that difficult time our
community really came through for us! Our most sincere
thanks to family, friends, Buddy Walk, and Jayden Fred
Foundation, for being there in our time of need.
About
Elijah
Born
12-18-2002
Has
three older brothers Marley, Jaeden,& Kiel
Knows
20-30 signs
Started
walking this summer!
Loves
ice cream,brothers, kitties, dogs and dancing
and meeting people!
|
