An account of Eli's journey as he begins a new chapter with a helper and friend.
Eli and Quilter
Eli's Story
Eli is a wonderful 13-year-old young man with an interesting and remarkable story. He has been on a miraculous journey his whole life and this is the beginning of the next chapter.
Eli began having seizures when he was 17 months old and these quickly progressed to become life-threatening. After much testing and trying several medications, it was determined that the best thing for Eli was brain surgery to try and stop them. On May 17,1999, Eli underwent a modified hemispherectomy, the removal of most of the left side of his brain. This surgery left him seizure free, but paralyzed on the right side of his body and without speech. He has, over the last 11 years regained his speech, his ability to walk and much use of his right hand, in what we feel is a remarkable recovery.
But this world is a two-handed world and in our desire to allow him to be as independent as possible, we recently applied for a service dog for him. We hope that this dog will not only assist him in carrying things, opening doors for him when his hand is full and helping him keep his balance when he is walking in his beloved mountains, we also hope that the dog will be a bridge to the rest of the world for him, helping him connect with others. We also know that the special bond he will have with the dog will only benefit him in ways we can't imagine right now.Join us as we move forward through his journey to his dog, and the rest of his life.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Eli's Story
This is the video we showed at his Benefit Concert.
Lovely video and music! Sorry I was not able to come to the concert. Martina
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