After more than 100 days in the hospital battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia, 14-year-old Elyse Spurgeon of Forney received one of the Christmas blessings she and her family had so earnestly hoped for. Her doctors gave her the approval to come home! While Elyse still has a long road ahead of her, working with her team of doctors to get to the goal of remission and healing, she now gets to enjoy Christmas together with her family and wait for the next steps in her own home. Elyse, her mother Kathryn, her father David, and her little brother Rocke, are thrilled to be home together for the first time since September 5.
After a police escort from Kaufman County’s Precinct 2 Constable’s office and a much-anticipated reunion with her 4-year-old brother the afternoon before, community members lined the streets with signs and cheers to welcome this young warrior back home last Thursday afternoon. Students and faculty from Elyse’s school, Warren Middle School, marked the beginning of the route, with handmade banners and posters, and the family was greeted by friends, family, and even strangers as they made their way through downtown and toward their home. Though this welcome home parade was truly a joint effort of many in the community, it was especially meaningful that many of Elyse’s schoolmates were able to come out to greet her. Katherine Spiller, a close friend of Elyse, said, “We are so grateful for Principal Garcia, Assistant Principal Woods, Mr. Waymire, Mrs. Moore, Coach Provence and the many others at Warren who have never refused any of our ideas to support Elyse.”
This step forward on Elyse’s journey serves as an encouragement for the family as they wait for the next bone marrow biopsy. As a part of our Forney Family, please remember the Spurgeon family in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season. A GoFundMe account has been created to assist the family with the costs associated with this battle against Leukemia (https://gf.me/u/ywzq83), and “Elyse’s Warrior Journey” can also be found on Facebook to read the most up to date information.
As each of the posts on “Elyse’s Warrior Journey” state faithfully: She is stronger than leukemia! #FightWithElyse
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.