Where it all started

Eli is our special little guy. He loves cars, super heroes, Paw Patrol, and anything that goes. He's full of energy and always ready to give a hug (back when we could do that) He is our little boy and we love him the world over. 

Eli has his challenges though, he was born with Down Syndrome which brings is own set of joys and challenges. Due to the various potential health issues his health is monitored and he has regular check ups. For the past 8 years these check ups have been good and we've only had to take some minor actions.

All that changed with the bloodwork done the day after his eighth birthday.

Eli seemed fine. He'd gone for his bloodwork the day after he turned 8. We'd actually been dancing around the living room to some new music just the other night. I had left for work, grabbed a coffee and walked into my office when my phone kept buzzing. I looked down to the see a text "I need you to answer the phone"

As she was getting the kids ready for school, K had already left and Dana was just getting Eli ready when our doctor's office called about the bloodwork from the day before. They told Dana to just get him to the hospital, pediatrics was waiting. My heart sunk, as I knew Dana's did too. People we know and love have had that phone call. You hope you aren't stepping into what every parent fears but you know they only make those calls when you are. 

We got to the hospital and one of the first people we see after check in is our pediatrician who happened to be on-call that morning. She is a great doctor and it was a relief to see her. She told us she was trying to get the report that set this in motion and got us going on more tests. It was at this point we were told his white blood cells were abnormal and that he would be going down to Children's Hospital in Vancouver and one of us would have to go with and be ready for a stay of weeks. 

I ran home and packed a bag for both of them and got back to the hospital. By the time I returned they had re-done the bloodwork and gave us an initial diagnosis of Leukemia. At this point he was stable and we were told he likely wouldn't be transported to Children's for a day or two so we had time to go home and pack properly and pick up K from school so we could tell her. 

As so often happens in life, things did not got to plan. We picked up K from school and took her home, she wanted to know where Eli was and we told her we needed to talk. As we sat down with her the phone rang, the hospital was calling, there was an air ambulance slot open and they were on their way. We had 20 minutes to make the 14 minute drive back. I later looked at our home security system log and we were only home for 3 minutes. We had the conversation quickly in the truck while I drove us back to the hospital in the midst of a random thunderstorm that blew through. The storm in some ways was appropriate given the storm we were walking into.

We were able to get to the hospital in time and it was good because K was able to see Eli and we were able to have a few moments together as a family. It gave us a quiet moment to pray together and say goodbye.

The transport team showed up and got Eli all wrapped up and ready for his air ambulance ride to Vancouver. Once Eli was strapped in and ready to roll in the ground ambulance that would take him to the airport, on of the paramedics was kind enough to take a family photo for us.

Upon arrival in Vancouver, they were transported to Children's hospital where there was more testing, more questions and finally later that night they were settled in a room. 

In the days that followed, Eli had a bone biopsy done which showed he has DS-B ALL (Down Syndrome B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) which has a very well established and successful treatment plan. 

The doctors have been very clear with us, he will make it, he will get through this, but it will be a long road. There will be bad days, there will be times we get to the end of our rope but we will get through this.

When we were trying to decide on a name just over 8 years ago for our coming little guy, we knew that he was going to special. We settled upon the name Eli because in Hebrew it means "God be Praised" We chose this name because it was our heart's desire that God would be praised through his life. We knew it wouldn't always be easy but we knew we had an eternal perspective on his life and those he touched. We walk this road in faith, knowing we have a hope that will not fail. We walk this journey know that we are exactly where we need to be and that we are held. We have the utmost confidence in the medical professionals who are caring for our precious boy and give thanks for them everyday.