Helias Community Elaina needs your help! Send prayers and please donate if you are able! gofundme/versluesfamily As you may know, Elaina is at St. Jude’s preparing to start full brain radiation to deal with the recent tumor growth she is experiencing. For many years, Elaina has been in and out of the hospital being treated for the brain tumors she has had since before she was born. If you know Elaina, you know that she is a little girl full of love, wit, and charm. Various forms of chemotherapy have been given to Elaina over the years, with the goal of trying to hold off on radiation as long as possible. The goal was for Elaina to make it to age 12 before resorting to radiation, and by some miracle, Elaina has made it to age 12 without radiation treatment. Unfortunately, all of that changed this past weekend when Elaina awoke during the night with a migraine and other symptoms. She was taken to the Med Center in Columbia, and it was decided that she needed to be transported to St. Jude in Memphis as soon as possible. The migraine was being caused by swelling in the brain as a result of brain tumor growth. She was transported by airplane from Columbia to Memphis on Sunday, November 16th, and upon arriving at St. Jude the process of determining a treatment plan began. Elaina had an MRI on Monday, November 17th. The doctors found that the tumors had “awoken” and one in particular had grown significantly larger in just the past 20 days since she was last seen. While Elaina has been kept comfortable, she is still experiencing migraines. She is sleeping a lot, and awakes only for brief periods of time. Her parents and doctors decided that radiation will begin ASAP. At this time, the plan is for radiation treatment to begin on Wednesday, November 19th. It is expected that she will receive radiation at St. Jude for the next 6-7 weeks, which will keep her hospitalized for Thanksgiving & Christmas. Both Jill & Ryan work full-time and have limited vacation available. In addition to prayers for Elaina & her family, we anticipate they will need financial assistance as they focus on Elaina’s treatment and recovery. If there is anyone on this earth that appreciates the real meaning of Christmas, it would be Elaina. It would take but a moment in her presence to see what a beautiful gift this child truly is. And what is more evident, the gift that her family is to her. So many people have asked what they can do to help. Any contribution big or small will help her and her family enjoy the spirit of Christmas. Please keep Elaina, as well as her parents, Jill & Ryan, and her siblings in your prayers. This year, their holidays will be spent in a very different way and it is our hope that they will feel the love and support of their family and friends.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:56:04 +0000
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