Help Support Xander
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We are startging this GoFundMe page to help support part of our work family.  Melissa is our coworker/sister/friend. We work together at Shelter House, a non-profit organization in Fort Walton Beach that helps victims of domestic and sexual violence.
Melissa and her husband are both military veterans. Xander is a special needs angel and is the son of Melissa and her husband. He was born at 24 weeks and has cerebral palsy, tracheomalacia, and is ventilator dependent and trach dependent because the vent hooks up to the trach. He is also gtube dependent to receive medication and feedings. Xander is only 7 years old. They also have another son, Caleb, who is 8 years old. Approximately 3 weeks ago, he had a liver function test that was normal. 2 weeks after that appointment, they noticed that Xander was grimacing a lot as if he was in pain so he was taken to the emergency room in Fort Walton Beach. Another liver function test was completed and they found out that his liver was double the normal size. They also spotted tumors all over his liver and his liver was not functioning properly. The doctor told Melissa that usually these tumors are cancerous and there was a 90-99% chance that it was cancer. He was transported to Pensacola and was admitted into Sacred Heart Hospital. A biopsy was performed and the results showed that he has Stage 4 liver cancer. They were hoping they caught it in time, but they didn't. Unfortunately, this poor baby is not a candidate for chemotherapy or radiation therapy. He is also not eligible for a liver transplant.
 The family was told that he has a few weeks of life left on this earth. Unfortunately, this will not be the first child the family would have to bury...Xander's twin brother died shortly after birth. Xander's father just started a new job and has no available time off to take. Melissa only has 1 week of paid time off and cannot afford to miss work. We are trying to help the family financially during this crisis so that they will be able to take time off work to spend their son's last days with him. They will also need financial assistance since he is in the hospital over an hour away from their home and they are having to make the round-trip each day to visit him. They will need to start making funeral arrangements and at this moment they are not in any kind of financial situation to be able to pay for those expenses. Please keep the Ehlers family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this and thank you in advance for any other support you can offer.  
Melissa and her husband are both military veterans. Xander is a special needs angel and is the son of Melissa and her husband. He was born at 24 weeks and has cerebral palsy, tracheomalacia, and is ventilator dependent and trach dependent because the vent hooks up to the trach. He is also gtube dependent to receive medication and feedings. Xander is only 7 years old. They also have another son, Caleb, who is 8 years old. Approximately 3 weeks ago, he had a liver function test that was normal. 2 weeks after that appointment, they noticed that Xander was grimacing a lot as if he was in pain so he was taken to the emergency room in Fort Walton Beach. Another liver function test was completed and they found out that his liver was double the normal size. They also spotted tumors all over his liver and his liver was not functioning properly. The doctor told Melissa that usually these tumors are cancerous and there was a 90-99% chance that it was cancer. He was transported to Pensacola and was admitted into Sacred Heart Hospital. A biopsy was performed and the results showed that he has Stage 4 liver cancer. They were hoping they caught it in time, but they didn't. Unfortunately, this poor baby is not a candidate for chemotherapy or radiation therapy. He is also not eligible for a liver transplant.
 The family was told that he has a few weeks of life left on this earth. Unfortunately, this will not be the first child the family would have to bury...Xander's twin brother died shortly after birth. Xander's father just started a new job and has no available time off to take. Melissa only has 1 week of paid time off and cannot afford to miss work. We are trying to help the family financially during this crisis so that they will be able to take time off work to spend their son's last days with him. They will also need financial assistance since he is in the hospital over an hour away from their home and they are having to make the round-trip each day to visit him. They will need to start making funeral arrangements and at this moment they are not in any kind of financial situation to be able to pay for those expenses. Please keep the Ehlers family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this and thank you in advance for any other support you can offer.  
Fundraising team: Shelter House Family (3)
Jennifer Blossom Blalock
Organizer
Fort Walton Beach, FL
Melissa Ehlers
Beneficiary
Jacqueline Avant
Team member
Yahaida Gonzalez
Team member
