Elijah Richards, who's being treated for hepatitis C, holds the globe sent to him by supporters from all over the world whom his family came to know through the Internet
Published: 12:00 AM, Sun Dec 19, 2010
Kim Hasty
LAURINBURG - The Richards family is ready for Christmas. The tree and nearly every square foot of visible living space are decorated with some sort of Christmas cheer.
Cheer, in fact, is the general order of the day in this house located a bit off the beaten path of the town's main thoroughfare. The only thing more prevalent than Christmas decorations is the laughter. And in the middle of it all earlier this week was the pint-size source of much of the prevailing sense of happiness.
Sitting cross-legged, with encouragement from not one, but four, older brothers, 5-year-old Elijah was given permission to carefully unwrap the first Christmas present of the season. A little early to start opening presents, perhaps, but this one held an undeniably special significance.
The gift had come from friends. Friends from all over the world. Australia and New Zealand. Italy, France and England. From various parts of the United States, too.
Elijah opened the cushioned box. Inside, of all things, was a globe. A globe small enough that a 5-year-old could lift it out of its box and hold it carefully in his small hands. And one day come to understand its implications.
"It's wonderful they did this for him,'' said his mother, Lana.
The globe, which spins on solar power, sits on a crystal-like pedestal inscribed with these words: "Elijah Richards. Hep C Hero. Christmas 2010.''
Hero is a heavy mantle to hang on a 5-year-old, but this 5-year-old wears it well. A wiggle worm sometimes. A hero all the time.
"They call hepatitis C a dragon,'' Lana Richards said. "But Elijah's gonna beat it because he's a dragon slayer.''
Lana and Shawn Richards knew there was a chance Elijah would be born with hepatitis C because his birth mother had the disease. Hepatitis C is caused by a blood-borne virus that slowly attacks the liver over time. There is no vaccine to prevent the disease and no certain cure. Once a child is infected, the disease has historically lasted a lifetime. In the United States, about 240,000 children have been exposed to the virus.
Undaunted, the Richardses, already the parents of five children, went through with the adoption and accepted Elijah's diagnosis when it came, without flinching.
What they couldn't accept was the fact that the conventional medical practice has historically been to not treat children for hepatitis C until they begin showing symptoms of the disease, which often doesn't happen until they are adults in the prime of life. Part of the reason is that few drugs have been available for treatment in children.
Lana Richards got busy educating herself. She found two websites in particular that offered her the most comfort and the most information - hepcnomads.co.uk and hepatitisckids.freeforums.org. She began online conversations and formed friendships with people who could relate to her struggle to help her son.
Almost exactly a year ago, Elijah began treatment. The Richardses say he is the youngest person undergoing treatment for hepatitis C in North Carolina. While Elijah's treatment originated at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, most of the hands-on efforts come from his mother. Elijah takes antiviral medicines twice a day, and Lana Richards gives her son a once-a-week injection of a chemotherapy medication. Sometimes, she's up all night with him when he's feeling sick.
It is never easy for her, injecting this cheerful little boy with a medication with side effects that sometimes make him very ill.
"I always hesitate,'' she said, "but he always makes me feel better.''
The treatment has taken a toll on Elijah. His blood platelet count is low, and he is battling severe anemia. But if the treatment works - and they won't know that until about six months after his treatment is complete - then Elijah will be considered free of the disease.
That's where the gift of the globe comes in. More than 20 people, most of whom the Richards family knows only from the Internet, banded together and purchased the globe to send to him. A gesture of hope and kindness from all over the world. Elijah can look at those spinning continents and know the locations of all the people who are thinking of him and hoping for the best for him.
They wanted Elijah to know that, all over the world, people are pulling for and praying for this little pioneer. This little hero.
Community news editor Kim Hasty can be reached at hastyk@fayobserver.com or 486-3591.
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