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Elijah

"I can't run mommy. I can't do it."

Two-and-a-half-year-old Elijah was getting sicker and sicker, more and more tired. Doctors initially thought that his pain and fevers were being caused by a bone infection. Although given numerous antibiotics, his condition continued to worsen.

Elijah stopped playing and running around. The pain became so intense that he would just lay and cry, refusing to let anyone hold him.

Eventually Elijah was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. In a letter to the Highmark Caring Foundation Board, Elijah's mother, Kara Ketley, described their world as being turned upside down:

"We did not have time to come up for air and we had so much news to digest. We were in the middle of a whirlwind at a time when it was critical for us to make informed decisions regarding Elijah's care, modify our home environment, adjust our lifestyles to properly care for him and make sure we had the resources to make it through his treatment protocol with the ability to financially recover."

At that point, Lisa Cordek, one of the nurse Care Coordinators from the Highmark Caring Foundation's Caring Program entered the family's life. In the same letter, Elijah's mother expressed great appreciation for the role that Lisa played in her family's life.

"Lisa was a God send. She called at a time when I felt like my strings were beginning to unravel. As she explained the program, I kept thinking to myself, is this program for real? I could not believe that our son's insurance company had a program to help parents through such situations. I immediately felt relief!"

Elijah's mother went on to say that their Care Coordinator helped their family to better understand their treatment options, helping them to make well-informed decisions regarding their son's care:

"She gave us practical information on organizations that offered help to families in similar circumstances that helped with transportation, food, respite, house cleaning and medical supply needs."

In the midst of Elijah's needs, Kara was also very concerned about Elijah's ten-year-old sister, Abby, who seemed to be slipping through the cracks. "I was home for only a few months during our daughter's entire fourth grade year," Kara said. "With all that was going on, her grades were suffering, and I could not be there to help her. I felt helpless and overwhelmed." Again, the Care Coordinator stepped in to help.

"Lisa coordinated my daughter receiving free tutoring through the Learning Lamp. This was such a tremendous help to Abby. As a result, she has been able to get back on track. This help has been priceless."

Kara sums up her response to the Caring Program:

"Without the services provided by the Care Coordinators of the Highmark Caring Foundation, I can't imagine where our family would be at this time. We cannot thank you enough..."

Elijah's family did find a promising new program for this rare type of cancer. After his third round of chemotherapy, Elijah began walking again and after his fourth round he was able to start running. Elijah could be heard shouting, "I can run ‘weally' fast. Watch how I can do it!" He now wakes up in the morning announcing, "I'm getting better Mom!" To this point, it looks like Elijah's diagnosis will hold true.