Anthony Harris' five years of life have been far from normal. Since age 2, the Ceres boy has been cooped up hospital rooms battling leukemia and is now in the latest fight for life.
Doctors at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center say that Anthony is too sick to receive a bone transplant which he needs to survive. They say his only hope is for chemotherapy to get him well enough to receive new bone marrow.
"He has to go through a little bit of remission," said said family friend Lacy Elliott of Turlock, who graduated with Shannon Harris at Ceres High School in 1997. "If he makes it through the chemo he will get a bone marrow transplant. They should have no problem getting a bone marrow match."
Because his family has a share of cost, a family friend is hosting two upcoming fundraisers to help Anthony's mother, Shannon Harris, with expenses as doctors strategize on his next phase of treatment. An estimated $10,000 is needed to cover her share of medical costs and living expenses.
"He's pretty much lived in the Madera hospital since he was two," said Elliott.
Treatments worked for a while; things were looking good for Anthony until October when he fell out of remission. He was been hospitalized at Valley Children's Hospital in Madera since the fall.
"He's been there non-stop since Halloween," said Elliott. "He's got to come home here and there but he's had some side effects and they had to put him in ICU."
Anthony was so ill that he was unable to participate in hospital trick-or-treating inside on Halloween. By November he lost all of his hair. Elliott said that Anthony is "very chemo sick right now."
Anthony's medical ordeal came when he was just two and a day care provider noticed that he bruised easily and they first suspected an iron deficiency. Doctors, however, discovered leukemia raging through his body. Treatments began immediately.
The illness has placed the single 30-year-old mother of two in a financially stressed situation. She has a share of cost for treatment as well as living expenses.
The first fundraiser is a shotgun golf tournament on Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Jack Tone Golf Course, 1500 Ruess Road, Ripon. The event starts at 8 a.m. Tickets are $100 and includes fees, cart, continental breakfast and lunch. A raffle will also be held. Local businesses may sponsor a hole for $100 with all proceeds to the family.
Elliott is also holding a March 4 Drive-Thru Dinner at Neto's, 1318 N. Golden State Boulevard, in Turlock. Dinner will be served 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 per person and include a half chicken, salad, beans and a roll.
Two websites are online to follow Anthony's plight. The first is www.myspace.com/supportanthony and includes postings of Anthony's condition as well as photographs. Elliott also has a website at http://www.golf4anthony.webs.com to publicize the fundraisers. Tickets to the golfing event and the dinner may be purchased through PayPal on the latter website. Donors may also make financial contributions through PayPal as well.
For more information on ways to help the family, Elliott may be reached at (209) 216-7074 or by email at loganlacyelliott@yahoo.com.
Doctors at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center say that Anthony is too sick to receive a bone transplant which he needs to survive. They say his only hope is for chemotherapy to get him well enough to receive new bone marrow.
"He has to go through a little bit of remission," said said family friend Lacy Elliott of Turlock, who graduated with Shannon Harris at Ceres High School in 1997. "If he makes it through the chemo he will get a bone marrow transplant. They should have no problem getting a bone marrow match."
Because his family has a share of cost, a family friend is hosting two upcoming fundraisers to help Anthony's mother, Shannon Harris, with expenses as doctors strategize on his next phase of treatment. An estimated $10,000 is needed to cover her share of medical costs and living expenses.
"He's pretty much lived in the Madera hospital since he was two," said Elliott.
Treatments worked for a while; things were looking good for Anthony until October when he fell out of remission. He was been hospitalized at Valley Children's Hospital in Madera since the fall.
"He's been there non-stop since Halloween," said Elliott. "He's got to come home here and there but he's had some side effects and they had to put him in ICU."
Anthony was so ill that he was unable to participate in hospital trick-or-treating inside on Halloween. By November he lost all of his hair. Elliott said that Anthony is "very chemo sick right now."
Anthony's medical ordeal came when he was just two and a day care provider noticed that he bruised easily and they first suspected an iron deficiency. Doctors, however, discovered leukemia raging through his body. Treatments began immediately.
The illness has placed the single 30-year-old mother of two in a financially stressed situation. She has a share of cost for treatment as well as living expenses.
The first fundraiser is a shotgun golf tournament on Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Jack Tone Golf Course, 1500 Ruess Road, Ripon. The event starts at 8 a.m. Tickets are $100 and includes fees, cart, continental breakfast and lunch. A raffle will also be held. Local businesses may sponsor a hole for $100 with all proceeds to the family.
Elliott is also holding a March 4 Drive-Thru Dinner at Neto's, 1318 N. Golden State Boulevard, in Turlock. Dinner will be served 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 per person and include a half chicken, salad, beans and a roll.
Two websites are online to follow Anthony's plight. The first is www.myspace.com/supportanthony and includes postings of Anthony's condition as well as photographs. Elliott also has a website at http://www.golf4anthony.webs.com to publicize the fundraisers. Tickets to the golfing event and the dinner may be purchased through PayPal on the latter website. Donors may also make financial contributions through PayPal as well.
For more information on ways to help the family, Elliott may be reached at (209) 216-7074 or by email at loganlacyelliott@yahoo.com.
