From Andrea Bogner, Eli's mom:
Eli was diagnosed when he was four years old. We knew something was wrong when bruises wouldn't go away. Eli woke up one day and couldn't walk. The pressure on his legs were too painful. We took Eli to Nationwide Children's Hospital and he was diagnosed very quickly. We didn't leave the hospital until 10 days later. For eight months, Eli was in a very intense treatment protocol that kept him isolated from others. Eli was very sick for most of the eight months and he had no immune system. When we were 13 days into the last of the intense treatment, Eli suffered a complication that resulted in both his eyes hemorrhaging. Eli was again in the hospital for a very long time while they tried to figure out what happened.
Eli suffered VOD, a liver disease caused by thioguanine, a chemotherapy pill. The VOD collected almost all his blood and platelets. This caused his eyes to bleed very badly. Eli has had three eye surgeries and, unfortunately, they cannot repair the damage done. Eli is now legally blind. He is a braille reader. Eli is now in the maintenance phase for his ALL treatment. This is the "easier" part of treatment. He is able to go to school and even his hair has grown back! He goes to the hospital once a month for high dose chemo and takes low dose chemo at home daily. He continues to be in remission and his last chemo treatment is set for October 3, 2020.
Eli has had to adjust so many times during his journey. He has always stayed positive. He now will be a braille reader and even learn math using braille. He is blowing his teachers away with how quickly he is learning braille. He continues to learn how to use his cane and is gaining a lot of independence. The doctors tell us Eli shouldn't be able to see at all, but by the Grace of God, Eli has slight peripheral vision in his left eye. He has learned how to use it well to make his life a little easier. Eli's liver completely healed from VOD without any medicine. The doctors tell us they've never seen that either.
He truly is a warrior!