Help Baby Elliott Fight Rare ATRT Brain Cancer

Elliott The Fighter – His Fight is Our Fight

On Wednesday, August 18th, one-month-old baby Elliott was admitted to the hospital. His parents, Natalie and Adam, took him in thinking he could possibly have RSV as he had a lot of congestion and mucus, along with a few other symptoms, but they were sadly mistaken.

In the ER that night, the doctor noticed some swelling on his head and a CT scan revealed a large amount of fluid in the brain along with a large mass. Elliott was then transferred to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor where he received an MRI which confirmed the heartbreaking news that it was indeed a tumor. He immediately went into emergency brain surgery.

After 2 hours of fluid draining and 8 hours of brain surgery to remove the tumor, the neurosurgeon was able to extract about 90% of the tumor, but the rest of it was too entangled in the brain stem and tissue to safely take out any more without causing permanent damage. Elliott went to the PICU to recover while waiting to discover what type of tumor and cancer he was battling. He was kept on a ventilator and his parents were unable to hold him for several days.

In the days following surgery, Elliott was able to have the ventilator removed and was placed on low oxygen via a nasal cannula. Due to the congestion and the fact that he has some recovery to do when it comes to swallowing and healing of his vocal cords, he has been place on a feeding tube for the time being. His external ventricular drain (for draining the remaining fluid from the brain) was removed on August 25th and Natalie and Adam were finally able to hold and snuggle their sweet, brave boy.

A week after the surgery, the pathology results came back on the tumor and it was not the news we were hoping and praying to hear. Elliott the fighter has been diagnosed with atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT) which is a rare and fast-growing cancerous tumor of the brain and spinal cord. Elliott’s medical team is working together, along with receiving input from other knowledgeable doctors and institutions around the country, to devise the best treatment plan for him to fight and beat this.

There are still a lot of unknowns on this long and difficult road ahead. We do not know yet what Elliott’s future cancer treatments will be, if they will take him and his parents to another state, how long his parents may be unable to work as they care for him, or what his medical bills may be. What we do know is that this sweet boy is strong, brave, and loved beyond measure. He is a fighter and he has an entire tribe he is bringing to battle with him.

The outpouring of love and support has been humbling. Natalie, Adam, and Elliott thank you from the bottom of their hearts. They, along with their families, are so grateful. So many of you are asking what you can do and it means more than you know because on this journey help and support is crucial. We have compiled a list of ways to help and support if you feel so inclined to do so.

Just for the sake of transparency, GoFundMe has removed all fundraising fees with the exception of the 2.9% transaction fee that is standard across all digital currency transactions plus a $0.30 deduction for each donation. For example, for a $100 donation, the family would actually receive $96.70; for a $1,000 donation they would receive $969.70, etc.

Monetary donations can also be made via Venmo, Paypal, or check. If you transfer directly from your bank account using these options there may not be a deduction/fee from your donation so all of the donation will go to the family.

Venmo: nataliemurphybelair

*please note this is the ONLY Venmo account Natalie has. Anything else coming up with her picture/portion of her name is a scam*

PayPal: contact Emily Murphy Kehl for this email 

(Go Fund Me protects emails b/c of phishing scams so I cannot attach it here)

Check: please contact Emily Murphy Kehl (Elliott’s aunt) for mailing address

**this go fund me & these pay options are the ONLY accounts we are using to collect funds for Elliott’s medical expenses. Anything else you may see out there is a scam. If you have doubts please contact me before you give & I can be sure you are giving to the correct location.

Looking for other ways to help:

-Gift Cards, E-cards (gas, Costco, Target, Kroger, restaurants, uber eats, doordash, etc.)

-meals (a link to meal train will be made available shortly)

-share posts, Elliott’s fb page with updates, the Go Fund Me link, etc. to others via social media, texts, & email

-Continue to pray for Elliott’s healing, for the medical teams treating him, and his family; send love and support; hold space for him and his family during this challenging time and just put all the positive energy and hope out into the universe

You can follow along with Elliott’s fight and progress with updates on this Go Fund Me page as well as at https://www.facebook.com/groups/166535808932886

Thank you again for all of the love, support, and prayers. We truly are so very grateful and blessed. Please keep praying for our boy, his medical team, and our family.

#Elliottthefighter #withstrengthandright #lordismyGod