Elliott's bone marrow transplant and recovery

Hi,

The time has finally come for our little warrior, Elliott, or as he likes to call himself, "Elliott MJ", to have a bone marrow transplant. We have feared this moment since we discovered Elliott had Fanconi Anemia in 2020. Still, we are grateful that he has a donor and access to a great care team at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital.

With that said, Elliott's treatment will require us all to move as a family from our home in Alexandria to Minneapolis from the end of November until late March. It will be a massive challenge not only for Elliott to overcome chemo, radiation and the complications of a bone marrow transplant, but also for Emmett, as we try to support both boys and each other in the best way we can.

We aren't going at the best of times as Elliott will be in hospital over Christmas, but we hope we can give him the best possible chance of a long and healthy life by acting now.

As you can imagine, relocating a family of four and all the medical and care costs associated with a transplant is a huge burden. Mel will take unpaid time off until next August to look after our boys. When we return to Alexandria, Elliott will be homebound for about 6 months as his immune system recovers. In all, we are about to embark on a 10-month journey as a family.

Many of our friends have asked how they can help, and while we hate to ask for donations, anything you could spare to help support Elliott and us would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Chris & Mel