Hiwassee Dam – Eli Jones was a typical middle-school student when he was playing outside on a normal Saturday morning in June 2022. Somehow, that play was rough enough to break Eli’s leg.
His mother, Betty Jean Jones, wasn’t overly alarmed as she took him to the hospital. However, that trip would change everything.
A routine scan showed spots on his bone, and later tests revealed that Eli had osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer.
Eli’s mother is a woman of faith, and she’s also a woman of action. As Eli suffered through the treatments and surgeries his cancer requires, his mother stood by his side and asked her community for prayer support.
The doctors were unable to save his leg in an attempt to thwart the cancer from spreading and, for a while, it looked like that aggressive plan was working. Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta has as tradition that calls for the child who has ended treatment to “ring the bell.”
The bell hangs on the wall in the lobby, and the ceremony involves the pediatric care team, family and friends cheering on patients who earned the right to ring the brass bell. When Eli completed his treatment, he joyfully rang the bell and headed home.
Things seem to be going well for him. He passed his driver’s license test, which thrilled him.
But in late April, Eli became ill with a fever. Jones knew this couldn’t be good news, and her mother’s intuition was right.
She wrote on the Facebook page Eli’s Fight to Beat Cancer, “I’m coming to you this morning with a broken heart. Eli’s CT Scan and PET Scan results weren’t good. They confirmed the MRI results from last Sunday morning. Multiple cancer spots aren’t good, but we serve a God who can do all things.”
Eli underwent surgery, but was released from the hospital to recover at home. Family friend William Abernathy said Jones wants to take Eli to a hospital in Texas that specializes in cases like his. She intends to find a way to get him to Texas for any treatment they might offer him.
Jones wrote on her Facebook page, “He told me yesterday, ‘Mama, I’m ready to go, but I want to live and have a normal life.’ “
Friends of the family have set up fundraising account at United Community Bank, where donations can be made to the cause.