By: Rebecca Marshall
More than 50 Nike employees and friends streamed into Nike headquarters in Beaverton on December 19, 2024 to honor Eli Wall, a young man who lost his battle with cancer at the age of 22.
Two years earlier, Eli’s dad, Ben Wall, a Nike employee, set up a blood drive in Eli’s honor. At the time, it was to support him with his fight against Osteosarcoma cancer. Sadly this annual event has become a memorial blood drive for someone who was taken too soon.
“The first blood drive we had was in the last three weeks of life”, Ben says choking back tears, “At the time we didn’t know that. “
The people who came in to donate blood at the memorial drive were handed a piece of paper that shared Eli’s story.
Ben Wall donates blood at Eli Wall Memorial Drive.
Below is a portion of that story written by the Eli Wall Foundation:
Eli was born in 2000 and grew up in the Portland, OR area. He was a joyful and spontaneous kid who was a bright light in the lives of so many –especially his mother Lea, his father Ben, his siblings Ali and Ryan, and his amazing group of friends. For someone so young, Eli was remarkably selfless, caring, insightful and considerate. He was truly the best kind of person.
Eli at soccer game
Eli started playing soccer at the age of five and quickly developed into an incredible athlete. He made the West Linn High School Varsity team when he was a freshman and by the time, he was a sophomore, he was the starting goalkeeper and used his skills to become one of the top-rated high school players in Oregon.
Unfortunately, Eli’s life changed in June of 2018 when he suddenly developed pain in his left arm and shoulder and discovered a small lump. Initially thought to be just a muscle pull, Eli was encouraged to try physical therapy. But over the next few months, the pain only grew deeper and stronger. It eventually became so intense that Eli could no longer sleep. An X-ray was finally taken, and the lump turned out to be a tumor. On August 6, Eli was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma – a rare cancer that he and his parents had never heard of but would soon learn way too much about.
The plan was for Eli to begin chemotherapy to shrink the tumor, then have surgery. But when he broke his arm while rolling on it during a nap, surgery had to come sooner than expected and it was then that Eli had three-quarters of his left humerus bone and entire deltoid muscle removed and replaced with a titanium rod sleeved in a cadaver humerus. As he recovered and continued chemo from September to March, Eli had to do home study – missing out on most of his senior year of high school. But Eli persisted and graduated in 2019. He even got to go to prom.
During the summer, things stabilized. The cancer appeared to be in remission and Eli was able to spend time with his friends – having fun, hanging out and just being teenagers. By October, things took a turn.
A scan revealed the cancer had spread to his lungs. He began treatment with an inhibitor called Regorafenib which shrunk the lesions but also caused hair loss, and sores on his hands and in his mouth. He then had surgery to remove eleven lesions.
Eli and friends.
But the next scan revealed another lesion. What followed was two years of radiation, more inhibitors and more chemo. Through it all, Eli remained his incredible self and even got to travel to Buffalo in October 2021 to cheer on his favorite team, The Bills. In 2022, Eli began what would become multiple trips to Seattle Children’s Hospital where he participated in three clinical trials involving CAR T-cells. In fact, he was the very first person on the planet to do so
Ultimately, Eli’s cancer became too much for his body to bear. Despite trying every treatment available, Eli passed away on January 4, 2023 at the age of 22. He was taken way too soon. Though Eli suffered for four and a half years, he did it quietly and gracefully in his Eli way. He never wanted anyone to worry about or pity him. And he didn’t want the conversation to be about his cancer. He just wanted to get better so he could keep doing the things he loved with the people he loved. He wanted to look to the future. And, even in the last week of his life, was waiting to hear about a new medication. ~Courtesy of the Eli Wall Foundation.
As for Ben, he’s comforted by all the people who show up to these donation events. Some are coworkers, some have been his friends for decades, and many (9 of them on this day) are first time donors. All understand the painful journey the Wall family has been on.
“We went through a lot of platelets and blood donations during Eli’s life. People don’t realize how important it is to keep kids healthy when they are going through treatment. There were also a lot of emergency situations that we needed blood right away.”
Ben talks to friends and supporters at the Eli Memorial Blood Drive.
Because of that, Ben says donating blood is the least he can do. He encourages others to do the same, “It’s just showing up and you help more people than you know.”
Our hearts go out to the Wall family, especially during the holiday season.
To learn more about blood donation or to make an appointment to give blood, go to RedCrossBlood.org.
Eli with mom Lea Thone, brother Ryan and sister Ali.
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