Prayers Please!

Many of you know that Michael's cousin, Adam, and his family are going through an "adventure" as they call it. Adam's 8 year old son, Elijah was diagnosed in 2007 with ALD. ALD is a rare genetic disorder where the body cannot break down Very Long Chain Fatty Acids. Adam, his wife Ronda and their 2 boys, Elijah and Cyrus (5 years old) are currently in Minneapolis at the U of M Medical Center where Elijah is undergoing treatment. Here is an excerpt from their website:

"For the last year we have been part of a trial study through John’s Hopkins Medical Center where Elijah has been on a very low fat diet (18 grams per day) and has had to drink Lorenzo’s Oil every day. In an MRI in November 2008, it was determined that a small lesion has begun to grow in his brain. This means a new course of action for our family. On February 2 we will begin a bone marrow transplant in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. Elijah will have a week of pre-operational testing, then twelve days of chemotherapy, and then have the transplant. Cyrus will be his bone marrow donor. We will be in Minneapolis for a total of 4-6 months."

We did hear from Michael's cousin, Shawn, (Adam's sister) today. She said that Cyrus is almost fully recovered except for some tenderness in his hips where the extraction was performed. Elijah is doing well, but he is experiencing some side effects of the chemo. These next 2 weeks are critical. This is when Elijah's cells begin fighting Cyrus' donated cells. There needs to be an 80 - 100% acceptance of the cells.

Please pray with us that Elijah's body accepts his brother's donated cells. Also pray for high spirits for Adam, Ronda, Elijah, Cyrus and the rest of the family. As I mentioned before, they call this an adventure and they put complete faith in God.