“It takes a village to raise a child."
Most parents readily agree that this statement is true. True for the normal hustle and bustle of life’s everyday challenges and demands…sports schedules, play dates, last minute school pickups, even an unexpected trip to the emergency room. A village member - be it a neighbor, a friend, a family member - extends a hand to help right the ship. But the overwhelming need for that village is never truer than when a child is sick…sick with cancer.
Here in our village there is a family that needs our help…
Eli is a 3 year old boy who, like many of our own children, is sweet and bubbly, warm and quick to smile or laugh. In December of 2021, at the age of 2, Eli was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia TCELL. Like the fighter he is, Eli beat his cancer and went into remission on January 18, 2022. Sadly, his cancer returned one year later.
To say that this has been a difficult year for Eli and his family would be an understatement. On February 24th, he was admitted to Hasbro to begin his chemotherapy cycle. What was expected to be one month of treatment turned into two. Following his stay at Hasbro, there were numerous daily trips to Boston for appointments. Eli then underwent brain radiation and was, again, admitted to the hospital on May 5th to have a PICC line inserted. Following that, he endured three days of full-body radiation, twice a day. On May 10th, Eli’s dad, Jeffrey, underwent a bone marrow aspiration so his marrow could be transplanted into his son.
Our village is poised to act…
After watching all that the Urena family has endured, our friends at Fawn and Cub Play Space in Cranston, where Eli played and brightened the days of everyone who met him, knew they couldn’t just sit on the sidelines, so they have organized a full week of fundraising events —“Super Eli Week” — to support this sweet boy. They have also set up a Go Fund Me page to help defray the medical expenses. (Please see all the details below.)
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As parents, we read this story and our minds wander to a time when our own children were injured or sick. We relive the anxiety and overwhelming concern for their well-being. If we were lucky, we knew that, ultimately, they would be okay. We simply cannot fathom what it must be like to watch our child fight for his life. And, while we pray that we will never experience that, we know that this is what Eli’s family is living with every day. Please consider helping them in any way possible. This family needs our village…now more than ever!
