From what we hear from 3000 miles away Eli had a good day today. We are in NY for “Uncle Yossi Bess” wedding which was one of the nicest, happiest weddings of all times. We will beezrat hashem be home first thing in the morning.

We need to thank the many family and friends that went out of their way to entertain all the kids at home. From taking them out to going places to spending a long time doing Elis line and IV to sleeping over we really appreciate it all.

IYH all will continue at home and on pace with protocol for Elimelech Ben Basya which BH today we finally received the results from the bone marrow biopsy from Thursday and BH that to was completely free. “Halevay vayter”.

Another very relaxed day for Eli and he seems to be somewhat getting a little stronger yet has a very long way to go. One day at a time and one small step ahead at a time.

As always please continue to have Elimelech Ben Basya in mind in your tefilos.

Eli woke a little earlier then usual but was in a very good mood. He got a good start to the day when his rebbi Rabbi Jacobs came and they learned together. Next up just spending time relaxing with Bubby from Lakewood and going out with her and the cousins. Eli enjoyed a afternoon at the Santa Monica Pier even winning a few prizes which he thoroughly enjoyed.

The TPN seems to somewhat be working as he seems to feel a little stronger and hopefully is also gaining weight. The diarrhea problems persists and is pretty worrisome but hopefully with time will prove to be nothing and IYH pass. There is nothing scheduled for the week and we hope that stays that way as we can use the break.

Please as always daven for Elimelech Ben Basya and all cholim that we should be zoche to see them all have a refua shelayma BKAROV

No news is good news. We really enjoyed Shabos at home with Eli. We look forward to IYH a quiet week a week of simchas, relaxing and most importantly gaining weight and strength for Eli. Please keep Elimelech Ben Basya bosch shaar choley yisroel in mind in all your tefilos. A GUT VOCH

First night at home on the IV wasn’t to bad it went BH with no complications. This morning Eli spent the morning at home relaxing as he still is recovering from the short yet somewhat painful procedure he had on Thursday. He enjoyed sitting and shmoozing with his bubby from Lakewood who is here to spend an extended weekend with us. Other then that all is quiet and we look forward to relaxing at home and getting Eli back on his feet and gaining weight.

Please continue as always to have Elimelech Ben Basya and all cholim in your tefilos etc. A GUT SHABOS

Eli needed to be woken up for the scheduled 9AM bone marrow procedure which was delayed a few minutes but BH went well and Eli was back in his room before 11:30. Soon after getting to the room the on call DR came in with the good news that Elis body took well bli ayin hora to the TPN and they have arranged for him to continue it at home. So after planning on being inpatient for close to a week we were able to leave after 3 days which was a huge relief to Eli and us.

As of now for the next while Eli will need to be on TPN at home which takes a lot of preparation to ready the IV and it runs for 12 hours every night. The goal is to try to fatten him up so he can gain much needed weight and strength. As of now there isn’t much else planned as far as appointments other then some small tests. The next big thing is immunotherapy scheduled to begin the 2nd week of Sep IYH.

Please as always daven for Elimelech Ben Basya that he should continue to take well to this TPN and it should do what its set to do. We also hope that the bone marrow results will come to us small possibility before shabos but if not on Monday and hope to continue to see favorable results.

This morning shortly after Eli woke up he was taken downstairs to have his MIBG scan. Hopefully no one will ever know what that machine or room looks like but its a big ugly machine that scans each portion of the body and it scans every bone to make sure that whatever disease was there is either not there, shrinking etc. It takes about 90 minutes for the scan to be complete which during the scan you can not move at all or the pictures will be unclear. For anyone let a lone an 8 year old to lay still for 90 minutes is plenty hard let alone if their last name is Gradon. But BH Eli the champ did it and once again bli ayin hora we got great results a few hours after the scan was done. All areas that were once affected with disease are now completely clear.

On Thursday morning Eli will be brought downstairs again to have his bone marrow biopsied to make sure IYH it is clear also. The procedure requires general anesthesia however it is less then 10 minute procedure. Eli continues to be on the TPN and BH has had no reaction to it and the doctors are satisfied and hopefully Eli will be able to go home earlier then originally planned for.

Please daven that we should continue to have clear and clean results on all scans and that Elimelech Ben Basya will take well to this TPN that he will need to be on for the foreseeable future.

Eli had a pretty good night sleep something he hasn’t had in a few weeks as he didn’t need to use the bathroom every few hours. He had no complications or side effects from the TPN bli ayin hora and he has began now the next round of it and will beezrat hashem have the same results tonight and as long as he needs this.

He received what’s called a MIBG injection this afternoon in preparation for the MIBG scan on Wednesday at 10AM which takes about 90 minutes of keeping Eli still while they scan every bone in his body.

Eli was visited by some friends today which he enjoyed and appreciated 2 of them which sat with him for a few hours so that Bassy and I can get a few things done. He was also visited by Alyssa Weisel who is our social worker from Chai Lifeline who brought him a whole bunch of special gifts and memorabilia from last nights Dodger baseball game something which we were meant to be at but missed as a result of being admitted. Alyssa has gone 24/7 out of her way for Eli and our family always thinking of what else she can do to help Eli and the entire family have an easier time with all of this going on. We can’t thank her enough for her efforts and we can’t ever thank Chai Lifeline for all they always do.

On a extremely sad note Mrs Avigail Rechnitz who I asked a few weeks ago for everyone to keep in their tefilos was niftar this morning. This has left a void in the world. She was a isha chashuvah that lived for her husband, 3 perfect kids, family and for the rest of the world. There was never a moment that she thought of herself always and only for others. At a very emotional levaya this evening which we heard at length of only some of her chasadim and love for her family it wasn’t mentioned what we hope and daven for which is that she will be the last korban of this terrible machla as in her zchus and her being a mailitz yosher for all cancer patients the C word will be no longer in existence. May her special family be zoche to only simchas.

Please continue to daven for Elimelech Ben Basya that this unexpected unplanned stay in CHLA will end soon with the right medication and in good health and that IYH the scans will continue to yield only the best results and that we should get them as quick as possible.

Today was one of the longer and harder days both emotionally and physically that we have endured since Elis diagnosis. At 7:15AM I had to wake Eli to be on time for his 8AM CT scan which he first needs to drink 2 full powerade bottles with bad tasting contrast over a 90 minute period. The good thing was I was able to give it to him thru his NG tube so he didn’t actually taste it. However due to waking him up early and the large amounts going thru him after it was done it caused him to vomit and during the vomiting his NG tube came out as a result.

As I have said to the DR many times prior to the NG tube being put in and after that it will be ugly and not helpful I was finally proven correct. He didn’t gain any weight and it was just a complete annoyance to me and mostly to Eli as it increased the amount of times he had to go to the bathroom especially at night while the NG tube was in use.

Bottom line was I refused to allow them to reinsert the NG tube which they finally agreed. The problem is that due to the fact that he’s so skinny and very weak they need to do something. So Eli is now back inpatient at CHLA where he will need to be for a good few days as they put him on something called TPN which is nutrients that goes thru his veins and doesn’t need to use his gut and that hopefully will give his gut a much needed rest so that the diarrhea will have a chance now to subside. The reason he needs to be inpatient is that they need to take many blood tests to see what levels he can handle. Once they figure that out he can beezrat hashem go home where he will need to be every night on this TPN which goes thru his central line for the foreseeable future.

Now for the VERY GOOD NEWS usually we need to wait a day or 2 before receiving CT scan results but I think because of all that went on they felt bad and had the radiologist read it right away and BH the scan was clear and no disease was detected. Good start to this round of testing which still has MIBG (full body bone scan) and bone marrow testing left to do. We will have to start getting used to this routine as these few tests and scans Eli will need every 3 months for the next 5 years!!!

Eli finally began the TPN at 10PM after a long day as it comes from Orange County and is so far taking to it very well. He was on this while in the BMT unit during his 23 day stay for stem cell transplant and that went smoothly then so hopefully this time will be the same.

Please daven that this should be the final answer to this dilemma Elimelech Ben Basya bsoch shaar choley yisroel is going thru and that this unexpected stay at CHLA should be as short and helpful as possible.

Hopefully bli ayin hora today was the start of Elis diarrhea slowing down. While it definitely isn’t where we would want him to be it was a lot better then recent memory. We hope that this trend will continue so that he will be able to gain some desperately needed weight and strength. Also if it finally does slow down maybe then he will finally be rested and have a normal night sleep as for now he gets up 2-4 times a night for the bathroom.

Eli relaxed at home all morning and then early afternoon we finally got out to eat some food which he BH ate nicely and ran some errands which he enjoyed. Later in the evening we went to a friend for a BBQ which Eli once again ate a decent amount of food. Finally nearly a week after radiation is done and many bath later we were finally able to remove the black marker stains that were all over Elis body as marks for them to line up the rays correctly so now Eli finally looks somewhat clean.

Monday early morning starts a long few days of testing starting at 730AM with the nasty drink that helps them see clearer for when they do the CT scan at about 9AM. Then on Tuesday he needs to be in CHLA for literally a few seconds so they can give a medication for the following day of Wednesday which is when they will do the MIBG scan. I don’t have a confirmed date but at some point also probably this week he will have his bone marrow checked which requires general anesthesia for the few minute procedure.

We hope and daven that all scans will be clear and clean and that we will get results as quick as possible so that we can try to sleep in peace and help Elimelech Ben Basya continue fighting this machla until we reach the ultimate goal of a refua shelayma.