But I'm not a Senior..........

IrishMike

What a tear jerker. Article

BobaFett72

Good story, but poorly written.

ArnyVee

Wow, great stuff.

Sometimes you feel the youth of America is lost and then something like this happens. Great stuff and I hope that we see a miracle for Eli and his family!

stitzen

<< <i>Good story, but poorly written. >>



Who cares about how it's written?

Good lord.

Fantastic story....I think the press shows far too many negative stories, good to see some positive stories coming out.

DeutscherGeist

The writing could use an overhaul as it was difficult to follow, but I really enjoyed the message. What a nice story about teenagers going out of their way to help a fellow classmate and enjoy doing it.

I am still involved in high school teaching, so I am with the "youth" more often than most people. Even though I was touched by this story, it does not surprise me what teenagers of this generation are capable of doing. I am not at all a jaded adult when it comes to teenagers. I have learned that every generation will be suspicious of the one succeeding it. Its a pattern of perception, nothing more. I am glad this article is available for the public.

stitzen

Sad postscript to this story, the King has fallen.

Link

Nine days after he was crowned homecoming king at Lake Fenton (Mich.) High School, Eli Florence died Sunday afternoon at his home. He was 15.

Eli became the emotional center of attention in the Flint, Mich., suburb and beyond when, on Oct. 5, five of his friends at Lake Fenton High -- four football players and a golfer -- opted to forgo their own chances to be the school's homecoming king and agreed as a group to honor the terminally ill sophomore and former teammate.
Eli Florence

Tri-County Times, Fenton Michigan

King Eli and part of the Lake Fenton royal court.

Eli had suffered from acute myelogenous leukemia for five years.

"He was a funny, outgoing kid," said Jake Kirk, one of the Lake Fenton football players who decided to give up his homecoming king candidacy so Eli could reign. "He loved to make you laugh."

Kirk spoke Sunday afternoon from the high school, where a benefit was about to get under way.

The gathering, catered from donations by 30 area restaurants, was intended to help Eli's family cover some unpaid medical expenses. After the news of Eli's death, it was expected to turn into a celebration of his short life.

Lake Fenton High principal John Spicko said at least 500 people were expected to gather in the school commons.

But, said Kirk, "Now, there may be more people than that."

The end came at Eli's home, surrounded by his parents, an aunt and uncle, one grandmother and some friends. He spent his final days there after being told in mid-September that no treatments could extend his life. He was a former junior high football player and longtime youth baseball player.

The act of kindness by the five Lake Fenton seniors -- football players Kirk, David Bittinger, Lucas Hasenfratz and Matthew Tanneyhill and golfer Ethan Merivirta -- triggered many comments from across the nation on a Web site created by Eli's friends and family.

Eli was scheduled to visit the sideline at the University of Michigan's homecoming game Saturday and meet coach Lloyd Carr, running back Mike Hart and others. But Eli wasn't strong enough to make it or receive a football that had been signed by Wolverine players.

Kirk saw Eli on Saturday night.

"He knew I was there,'' Kirk aid. "I told him goodbye before I left."

Funeral arrangements were pending.

DeutscherGeist

"acute myelogenous leukemia"


I had thought leukemia was definately a curable disease as it only takes the right type of bone marrow donor. Rod Carew's daughter also died as a teenager only because a matching bone marrow donor could not be located and the mother was too old to bear any more children that could also be used to help their teenage daughter (of course the new sibling would not be harmed in any long term way).


It does not sound that Eli had any siblings and perhaps his mother could not bear anymore children. He had some stem cell treatments according to the article and that could mean the bone marrow. I guess the match might have not been precise enough, otherwise this disease could have easily been treated.

I would venture to guess that a clone of Eli born out of his mother would have been the perfect marrow donor and the disease would have been over with. A new twin brother years younger would have been the added benefit too. Human cloning is illegal, but I think that would have saved Eli. Sounds like a far fetched scenario, but its actually not too far off from reality or the capability of today's technology.

A sad ending to an extraordinary story.