An amazing seven months

Feleke is a 12 old boy from from Dafe Jema, Ethiopia.  If you've been following this blog, you know that Feleke's life has changed dramatically in recent months.  (If you haven't, maybe you should start here.)  Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a bigger change in circumstances for one person in such a short time. This blog has documented his incredible summer.  He traveled to Alabama, where he had is first experience "tubing"  at Lake Martin.  He spent some time  "up north" on Lake Leelenau and Lake Michigan where he did some boating, biking, and golfing and even got to climb Sleeping Bear Dune.  


Oh, and earlier in the year he went to Chicago to see the skyscrapers.

 


 and the zoo to see the  polar bears .  And he's even been fishing.  He caught his first fish with our friend Paul.

And back in the winter, Feleke got to see a Michigan basketball game in person.  Former Michigan basketball player David Merritt arranged for Feleke to have seats up close and for him to meet some of the players after the game and to get a behind the scenes tour of the new basketball training facility at UM. Here are pictures from that.

Here is Feleke with Ruth Ann, waiting for the players to emerge from the locker room.

Tim Hardaway Jr. may be going to the NBA next year; this year he was posing for a photo with Feleke. The team had just lost to Purdue--the final game of the regular season.  And the players were not very happy.  Tim somehow managed to put on a fake smile for the camera.

Zack Novak had a little more difficulty getting over the loss.  He really, really hates to lose.

 Oh well.  We still appreciated the picture.  We later saw Zack in the locker room, and he was very nice.  He is one of the classiest, and most competitive, players Michigan has ever had.

This is Feleke chilling with CJ Lee, another former Michigan player, who was giving us the royal tour.  This is  the room where the players watch game film.  Below is a shot of Ruth Ann, me, Thomas, and Feleke, on the floor after the game.  The whole experience was a little surreal.

All of these experiences have been amazing.  But to understand how far Feleke has come, we need to go back to the beginning of the story.  Below is an excerpt from Dr. Hodes' initial post about Feleke on his website.  This is how we found out that Feleke needed a place to stay.  


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Feleke’s parents noticed that he was sick at age 5. He had dental pain and received injections at a nearby clinic. When he was 7, his dad saw swelling in Feleke’s neck, and took him back to a clinic. Doctors could not identify the problem, thus Feleke remained untreated.

When he was 11, his parents noticed that his neck was growing larger and larger. They were worried because Feleke was looking worse and worse, and his classmates were making fun of the way his neck looked. He would come home from school and cry.

His father then brought him to Addis Ababa’s Black Lion University Hospital. They did 2 biopsies – 1 showed a malignant tumor, the other did not. The doctors said Feleke needed chemotherapy. His dad sold all of the family’s cattle to pay for the treatment. This is like cutting off one’s arm.

He had several cycles of a 4-drug regimen. After his 28,000 birr ran out – nearly $2,000 at the time, treatment was halted early. Visiting doctors made promises of treating him, but he never completed full chemotherapy. Nine months ago, someone at Black Lion told Feleke’s family about Dr. Rick. They went to the Catholic Mission and Dr. Rick took over his care. Dr. Rick ordered another biopsy and sent it to the University of Rochester for immunologic stains to better understand Feleke’s condition. They confirmed Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which appears localized to 1 side of his neck.

Feleke’s parents only dream about him becoming healthy. They feel ashamed that they do not have the resources or money to save his life. Feleke hopes that one day he will grow up to become a teacher, because: “being a teacher makes me happy.”

Now here’s where the luck of visitors comes in: Dr. Jeff Forman, a Detroit radiation oncologist, recently visited Addis Ababa with the Sherman Leadership Mission of the Detroit Jewish Federation. Rick introduced him to Feleke. After examining him and studying his records, Dr. Jeff agreed to provide free radiation therapy. This is a fantastic opportunity for Feleke – he has a very good chance of a normal life afterwards.


Feleke needs a flight to Detroit, housing for 4 or 5 weeks, and local transport to his 15 sessions of radiation therapy. If you or someone you know wishes to provide support for this extraordinary boy, please contact Dr. Hodes at ethiopianspines@gmail.com.




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As it turned out, Dr. Forman decided that Feleke needed 23 radiation treatments, which took 5 weeks.  But the treatments seem to have worked.  Feleke is doing very well.  Which reminds me.  I haven't said much about the Dr. Forman.  In addition to Dr. Hodes, who discovered Feleke at the Mother Teresa Mission in Addis, Dr. Forman is the guy who is most responsible for saving Feleke's life.  Here he is.

He  practices medicine at  21st Century Oncology , which happens to have an office in Farmington Hills, Michigan.  You can read about his education and accomplishments here, but take my word for it:  Dr. Forman is one of the top radiation oncologists in the world. And he agreed to treat Feleke for free.  He also still sees Feleke periodically, to monitor the remission of his cancer.  Thanks, Dr. Forman, for all your help.