ELLIOTT

Elliott had always been a happy-go-lucky, busy kid. However, in early 2024, after several weeks of Elliott mentioning his legs hurt, fevering, crying at night, and general complaining that he didn’t feel well (including Christmas Day when Elliott excused himself to go to bed in the morning without playing with any new toys), we took him to the hospital. On January 22, 2024, in a tiny room tucked away in the back of Grand River Hospital’s Emergency Room, we were shocked to learn that Elliott had leukemia before being urgently sent by ambulance to Children’s Hospital in London.

What transpired in the days following was a blur of information, transfusions, meetings, surgeries and constant document reading and signing. We learned that Elliott had High Risk B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with two high risk factors which made him eligible for a study to receive immunotherapy in future treatment blocks. Our family suffered several other tragedies during this first week and we moved our family into Ronald McDonald House, including Grandma who was able to help care for Elliott’s new baby sister while Elliott was cared for in pediatric oncology at the hospital. After several weeks of treatment, Elliott came to Ronald McDonald House where we adjusted to caring for him with his new diagnosis. After several more weeks, we were finally able to go home and continue treatment between the Kitchener and London hospitals. 

Elliott has experienced many delays in his treatment. Originally, it was hoped that he would finish in time to go to School in September, then maybe after Thanksgiving but, after a few months, we received news that the study Elliott was in had been cancelled. An exciting breakthrough in treatment had been confirmed which meant Elliott would need to start a new immunotherapy but this would further extend Elliott’s treatment. We then hoped that Elliott could go to school right after Christmas break. However, Elliott faced even more delays which continued to add months to his protocol.

In late April 2025 and after 15 months of intense care, Elliott entered the Maintenance phase of treatment and attended his first day of school. Finally, it has felt like we can stop to catch our breath; things might actually be returning to normal. We know that Elliott still has many months ahead, but he excels every day and we all have so much hope for the future. 

We have been blessed to live in an area that allows us to access care through the POGO clinic at Grand River Hospital in Kitchener. The staff at the POGO clinic and the care provided is absolutely incredible and has allowed us to live a slightly more normal life while we navigate Elliott’s cancer journey with him. We are forever grateful for the kindness and care they provide our entire family.