A four-year-old Campbell River boy is recovering after being diagnosed with leukemia.
In December last year, the Lewis family were going about their day when Eli had a fever that kept coming back week after week, prompting his parents to take him to the Campbell River Emergency Room.
High school teacher and Eli’s father James Lewis says a few hours later, Eli was diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of Leukemia.
“That meant we were airlifted to BC Children’s Hospital that very night, and within 12 hours of finding out, he was already receiving chemotherapy at the Hospital Cancer Board,” said Lewis.
“He did two rounds of chemo which made him quite ill, and that was quite hard to see as a parent.”
He says in the six months since going to the hospital, Eli has also gone through radiation therapy and has received a bone marrow transplant.
Along with this treatment, Eli also received support from the hospital’s Child Life program.
The program has specialists helping children, youth, and families cope with the stress and uncertainty of illness, trauma, and disability by explaining procedures, bringing opportunities for the kids to play, and coping plans centered on those affected, among other ways.
Child Life specialist for the hospital’s Oncology, Hematology, and Bone Marrow Transplant unit Ashley Tolerton says it’s important that children understand what’s going on in a way that is developmentally appropriate.
“For example, someone between the ages of 3 to 5 similar to Eli and experiencing Leukemia, how can we explain it in a way that is understandable?”, said Tolerton.
“There’s an activity that can be done like Blood soup that mixes all these kinds of candies in molasses, and what that does is it provides a visual to kids on what a good or bad cell is. That way they have an understanding to why they’re here, which can help with coping and emotional regulation.”
Tolerton says like many kids, Eli went from not knowing the nurses in the beginning of his stay to feeling very comfortable with the staff as his journey to recovery continues.
For James, the team were very supportive to Eli during this process.
“When he came in here, he was very independent and trying to maintain control of his life, so being thrust into the hospital where he doesn’t have control, he has to stay one place and was really sick was really hard for him,” said Lewis.
“Recognizing that, the Child Life specialists tried really hard for a very stubborn toddler. They tried for weeks to get Eli to engage with them and he would give them a lot of nos, but after a while, he warmed up to them and they were able to figure out exactly what would get his attention and get him smiling on those really hard days.”
He says Eli recently finished his bone marrow transplant, and is currently showing good signs of recovery.
He hopes Eli continues to recover and show good signs in the next few months, with the parents hoping to return to the Island sometime this August.
