For the last few months we have tried arranging for Eli to go to Israel but each opportunity didn’t work for different reasons. ‎BH this time it worked. We left Los Angeles on Monday on the direct ELAL flight and landed Tuesday 2PM. We relaxed on Tuesday for a few hours and then headed to the Wolmark wedding where they gave Eli star treatment!! After a few hours Eli got tired and we headed to Yerushalayim to our hotel for a good night sleep. 

Wednesday morning our first stop was the Kosel where Eli davened for a long while for himself as well as a long list of other young cholim fighting the same machla. It was a very special moment and I was able to see Eli was happy he did it. From there after a short break it was onto Kever Rochel where once again he davened for friends and family and everyone. 

Late in the day I took Eli to the Mir Yeshiva to see where I learned and what goes on in a yeshiva and Eli was very impressed. We took a walk thru Geula and Meah Shearim and Eli thoroughly enjoyed. Thursday we hope to go to kvarim of Eli’s Great Grandparents and kivrei tzadikim. We have a lot to try to accomplish in the short time we have here and hope to be able to do that. 

We owe a tremendous amount of Hakaros Hatov to Shlomo Yehuda and Tamar Rechnitz for arranging this trip for Eli from start to finish. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Eli and so far he is very much taking advantage of every minute here. 
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Elimelech Ben Basya bsoch shaar choley yisroel lrefua shelayma bkarov ‎
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At the end of last week we received BAH great news. The bone marrow biopsy which 6 months ago showed the marrow being nearly completely full of disease is now nearly all clear!!! This is extremely good news and it only happened with a lot of zchusim of tefila that everyone is doing on Eli’s behalf. 
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As a result of this early Monday morning we will IYH be back in CHLA to do a stem cell transplant using some of the stem cells they harvested from Eli at the time of diagnosis. Beezrat hashem this will help jump start Eli’s platelets to hopefully levels we haven’t seen in a long time which in turn may make Eli eligible for studies that he hasn’t been able to be part of because of low platelets. The actual transplant is a IV bag that takes about 7 minutes to empty thru his line but they before and after need to hydrate Eli for a few hours. 
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Aside from the good news on paper it has also given Eli a mental boost and he feels very good about himself. He has been doing a lot of walking and activities that not that long ago didn’t seem physically possible. BH the TPN has also helped and the scale is clearly showing it aloing with the way he looks. 
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As good as this all this and it’s amazing we still have a very long road ahead before they consider Eli is remission but it’s a great start and any good news we get is always accepted. ‎
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Please continue as always having Elimelech Ben Basya in all your tefilos.

We were headed to CHLA at 7:30 this morning for bone marrow procedure. That procedure was quick and Eli woke up very soon after and we headed down at 10:45 after the procedure for chemo. BH all went as scheduled and we were done and home from chemo at about 1PM. 
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Late this afternoon we got word from the DR that the initial part of the procedure which for the last few times was positive today was negative. This is definitely good news ahead of the main results which should come by the end of the week. Also Eli noticeably BAH gained a few pounds since starting TPN. So all in all we are not complaining and hoping this is the start of only good news. ‎

Please continue having Elimelech Ben Basya in all your tefilos.

BH we had a very nice and enjoyable Shabos where Eli was up to getting out for all tefilos and hanging around for the entire seuda. TPN has been running for 12 hours a night and we hope to see the results on the scale on Monday. 

IYH Monday early morning we will be back in CHLA for a scan we haven’t done in many many months the bone marrow check where Eli gets general anesthesia and they will see hopefully some improvement in how much disease is in the marrow. It’s a very short procedure but takes a few days for results. That will be followed by outpatient chemo which will be happening daily all week. 

Please daven that Elimelech Ben Basya should get good results from this scan and that the chemo this week should have no negative side effects.

As of Thursday night Eli is back on TPN for 12 hours a night to hopefully jump start him gaining weight. We hope it’s a temporary thing but will IYH keep at it until he has some flesh on his skinny bones. ‎On Friday we were in CHLA for a scheduled DR appt where BH Eli was cleared to begin chemo on Monday. 

Please as always continue having Elimelech Ben Basya in all your tefilos. A GUT SHABOS

Eli had a complete good turn around over Shabos. Once home from the scan Friday afternoon he was more in the mood of eating and the main news was that he was able to hold it down and BAH that continues. Friday night he sat all the meal and made it to a few Shalom Zachors as well as going to shul over Shabos. Sunday was a nice outing at a Chai Lifeline picnic/BBQ. 
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Monday morning was back at CHLA for what was meant to be a lab check as well as a platelet transfusion. For some reason the lab was backed up and instead of the normal 40-60 minutes wait for results it took 2.5 hours to find out that BH his blood and platelets were fine but once again his potasium this time was dangerously low. So after getting the potasium transfusion which runs over a 2 hour IV they sent us down to get an X-Ray to make sure there’s nothing obvious in Eli’s belly causing it. Then it was back to the Infusion center to recheck the potasium levels which definitely did rise but isn’t where they want it to be. So instead of what should of been a 2-3 hour visit was a 7+ hour ordeal.  IYH Tuesday morning we will be back in CHLA for another pottasium transfusion and also to see if the X-Ray or stool test yield any clue as to why Eli’s pottasium keep dropping. 
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Other then that the good news was that in his good mood and holding down food even though we have a very long road to be at a weight that would make us happy Eli did gain nearly a pound over the weekend and beezrat hashem that will continue in the right direction. We do have a GI appointment Wed early morning to set up TPN in case they do feel he needs that but we are hoping that won’t be the case. 
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Please as always continue having Elimelech Ben Basya bsoch shaar choley yisroel in all your tefilos. ‎
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