Eliam's Journey

Heather and Nathan received news that no parent should ever have to hear. Eli was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia B Cell. This is the most common and most treatable of childhood cancers. Although there is hope, Eli will be fighting this battle for a long time.

Eli and his family are loved by many. People are reaching out and asking how they can help. We feel the best way to help right now is through prayer and also to help financially with the additional costs they are accruing. We are setting up this page so people can make donations easily through one site. We have included the information that Heather and Nathan put on Eli’s Caring Bridge Page.

Many of you are aware, but many are not aware that on December 14th, 2021, we took our youngest son Eliam (22 months) to the clinic for concerns of an ear infection. They treated him that day and started him on his first round of antibiotics. Nine days later he was still showing signs of an ear infection. We took him back in and determined that he had a secondary ear infection and still fluid in the original ear. We then started him on a second round of antibiotics. This time however about 3 days into the new antibiotic he developed an allergic reaction. They stopped this antibiotic and started him on a new one. While on the third antibiotic, we were scheduled for a follow-up visit with our primary care pediatrician. On Sunday January 2nd, we noticed he started to have bloody noses, and started to have a fever. On Tuesday January 4th we got a call at 4:30 pm from our amazing daycare provider (Grandma Vernie) that his temp had spiked to 104. We took him to the walk-in clinic and he was treated for a standard viral infection. His next follow-up appointment was scheduled for January 6th at 3:30pm. The morning of January 6th the clinic called and said that they were able to get him into the pediatrician that morning. So at about 9:30 I arrived at the clinic with Eliam. When we got there he was still lethargic, did not feel good and his skin was a yellowish color. The doctor decided to run a handful of labs. When we got back to the room after labs, a few minutes later the doctor came in. She uttered the words "Heather we have some of his labs back, and I have to tell you it is not good." She stated that our little boy was very sick, and we needed to get him to Bismarck. She stated that she believed that it was cancer. As all can imagine those are words that no parent ever wants to hear. My heart broke into a million pieces. I squeezed my boy tight. I called Nathan, and while sobbing, I told him that we needed to pack a bag and head to Bismarck right away.

We packed a quick bag, snuggled our two oldest children, kissed them goodbye and prepared to be gone for a couple of days not ever imagining what the next 48 hours would hold. Nothing could have prepared us for what we were walking into.

We arrived in Bismarck and were greeted by the oncology team. They wasted no time running every lab test in the world.

We briefly visited with the oncologist on shift. She stated that after reviewing the labs from Dickinson, and consulting with her team in Fargo, it is showing that Eliam has Leukemia. To say that was the worst news of our entire life is an understatement. She stated that we needed to stabilize him and that he would be transported in the morning by ambulance to Fargo. Our little man was in desperate need of blood as he was highly anemic. He received a blood transfusion that night as well as a platelet transfusion. The blood transfusion went as planned, however the platelet transfusion did not. He had a horrific reaction to it. He spiked over a 110 fever and was shaking uncontrollably. They immediately stopped the platelets and gave him anaphylactic medication. They were finally able to stabilize him and successfully give him the platelet transfusion.

On Friday January 7th Eliam and Nathan were transported to Fargo via ambulance, and I followed right behind.

Once we got to Fargo they again started what seemed like a million and one tests. We, along with many friends and family were praying for the best outcome and praying that his tests were wrong. Saturday morning January 8th, we were given news that we did not want to hear. Our little boy received an official Leukemia diagnosis. We were in shock (we still are in shock). We had never in a million years expected that what would have seemed like a clinic follow-up visit for ear infections would lead us to 48 hours later receiving a cancer diagnosis. On Sunday January 9th, 21month old little boy was admitted to the OR where he received a central port, a bone marrow biopsy and a spinal tap. They placed one round of chemo into his spine as that is where Leukemia cells tend to congregate.

Once out of surgery we were waiting to hear from the oncologist as we knew he had Leukemia but we were not sure of what type. We were given amazing news that Leukemia was not found in his spine or his head (God gets all the praise here!).

Eliam has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia B Cell. (ALL-B Cell). We know that it is the most common and the most treatable of childhood cancers. For this, we are thankful.

Today Eliam received his first round of chemotherapy along with another blood and platelet transfusion. We are in the induction phase of his treatment and most likely will be in the hospital for 1-2 more weeks. After this, we will need to remain in Fargo so they are able to keep a close eye on him. After that, we should be able to return home. Some of his treatment can be done in Bismarck, and some of it can be done in Fargo. At this point we have no idea past the 28 days. He will need another bone marrow biopsy after 28 days and from there we will get a better roadmap of what our future will hold.

As you can imagine, this news is devastating on so many levels. We are trying to manage our life here in Fargo as well as maintain our role as mom and dad to Emsley and Kenaniah back in Dickinson. Please know that we love having people reach out, but please be patient if we do not respond back right away. Our life is in complete chaos right now, and we are spending every waking minute with our son and in the spare moments we are facetiming with our other children back home.

We thank everybody for the prayers and support! We have said over and over the last few days that we are blown away by the goodness of people in our life both near and far. We ask that you continue to pray for our son. Continue to pray for complete healing. We also ask that you continue praying for Emsley and Kenaniah. We do not want to lose them in this process. Finally, we ask that you pray for the chemotherapy to take a very minimal effect on our little guy’s body! There is power in prayer, and we are agreeing with everybody along the way.

Thank you for considering giving to this special family. We know they will be forever humbled and grateful for your prayers and gifts.