Liam Elder is a young and energetic 10 year old boy who is fighting leukemia for the second time in his young life. As part of his current treatment, Liam is scheduled to have a bone marrow transplant in December at the Sick Kids hospital in Toronto and will be away from home for up to 3 months. His parents must be there to support him. We want to help the Elder family to pay for the additional expense of living away from home, as well as for additional care for Liam’s little brother Ben. All donations will be used to pay for accommodations, food, childcare and any medical supplies needed in this incredibly difficult time.
Liam was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia (pre-B Acute Lymphatic Leukemia, Philadelphia Chromosome positive) in March 2011 at the age of 6. The first 17 months of his 2.5 year protocol were intense. He was admitted to hospital for powerful and very harsh chemotherapies every 3-4 weeks. In between these chemotherapies he was admitted many times for c-difficile and other bacterial/viral/fungal infections, pneumonia, anaphylaxis reactions to blood products, etc. At the end of the intense chemotherapies, he received 12 Grays of cranial radiation. He completed his protocol in late October 2013 and was completely medication free for nine months.
Liam relapsed on July 17th, 2014 with the same type of cancer and chemotherapy began immediately. The plan was to get the cancer into remission and then go to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto for a blood marrow or stem cell transplant. Three weeks later, while immune-compromised he started having some intense pains in his nose, and within days we noticed that part of his palate was black, a sign of dead tissue. The diagnosis was Mucormycosis, a rare, life-threatening fungal infection. Within hours he was whisked away to surgery to have 2/3 of his palate removed, as well as the septum in his nose and a nerve. Further surgeries removed a tear duct, the sinus cavity between his eyes, and a lot more debridements to remove necrotic tissue than any child should endure.
Lots of x-rays, scans and MRIs were done to make sure it had not spread to the brain, lungs or other parts of his body. He was “lucky” in this regard, but the road to recovery, both physical and emotional, has been very hard on the entire family, as has been keeping both the Mucormycosis and Leukemia at bay … a VERY delicate balance indeed. This kept Liam in CHEO for over three months and he remains on both chemotherapy medications and very strong anti-fungal medications.
A bone marrow donor has been found for Liam, and the transplant could take place in December once a conclusion on the fungal infection has been reached. So, the Elders are embarking on this journey to transplant, and the doctors, parents and Liam are working to understand the risks involved with everything that is going on. They started the pre-transplant process this past week, and the plan is for Liam to be admitted on December 10. Right before Christmas!
With everything that they have to worry about, we want to try to make their lives a little easier. The family has enough on their plates without thinking about finances, and any donations will be deeply appreciated.
Please donate and support the Elder family as they embark on this important journey to save Liam’s life. Thank you so much for your help!
A note on payment methods:
You do not need a PayPal account to contribute. Just look for the guest payment link on the PayPal login screen. Note that Fundrazr takes 5% and PayPal takes 2.9% + $0.30 per contribution. You may also send an email money transfer to friendsofliam@bell.net
If you prefer not to transact online, the family has opened a bank account at TD Canada Trust and donations can be made to the Friends of Liam account, care of Christine Harkin.
