Christ the King School in Fort Smith kicks off each Terrific Tuesday Assembly by announcing the monthly service project for the entire student body to participate. At the assembly in October it was announced that the students and staff would join forces with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation by forming Team Eli. All students and staff were challenged to fill a large container full of coins and dollars by Oct. 31. This project happens to be very near and dear to the hearts of the students and faculty at the school. So much so that after the announcement of the service project a voice rang out amongst the crowd of students, “We can do more.” The reason for such a reaction is second grader Eli Murray, who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at two months old. Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited, chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States.
For the past seven years, Eli has been on a very strict treatment plan. Eli’s family tries to live life as normal as possible but with many added responsibilities. Eli’s mother, Candace, says her son is your typical, rowdy little boy who loves baseball, gymnastics and basketball. Along with all these activities and his school schedule, Eli has another schedule he must follow each and every day.
The family begins each day at 6 a.m. with Eli’s morning breathing therapy that helps to clear his lungs of mucus. This process is called chest wall oscillation. It is preformed by putting an oscillation vest, called the “vest”, on Eli which jiggles and shakes for about an hour. Breakfast then follows and so does his first dose of medication. During the day, whenever Eli eats he takes additional medication. After school and his extracurricular activities he is home for dinner and more meds. Eli has to take approximately 25 pills a day. Before he goes to bed he wraps up the day with another breathing treatment using the “vest”. Finally he says his bedtime prayers then off to sleep.
If you ask Eli what it is like to have Cystic Fibrosis, he doesn’t have an answer. He has grown up with this routine and hasn’t known the world in any other way. He says he is very happy to be the leader of the Team Eli service project at Christ the King. He is excited to lead the way in helping the foundation to continue researching ways to improve the quality of life for people who have Cystic Fibrosis.
