CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – 14-year old Elijah Clark isn't someone who beats around the bush.
"I have cancer," he says. "That's it. Straight to the point. I'm a direct kind-of guy. That's just my personality. I was born with no hands, and now I have cancer."
Elijah is one of four people in the world – according to his mother's research – living with a very specific physical feature. He only has one bone from his elbow down, where most people have two. At the end of each bone he has a thumb but no fingers.
"He is independent and funny and smart and I just could not be more proud of my son," says Alishia Clark. "He has never let anything get him down. God had him born that way for a reason. It's never stopped him from doing anything. I guess that means we're now going through his most recent diagnosis for a reason too."
On June 20th, Elijah got confirmation he has Stave IV Hodgkins Lymphoma.
"It was definitely a shock," says Alishia. "Not what we expected to hear."
Six weeks later, Elijah is heavy into multiple chemo treatments. Some days are good, some days are bad. He says a good day is when he doesn't throw up. A good day is also when he feels okay to get outside and kick around a soccer ball. Soccer, he says, is his passion.
"I started playing when I was four years old," he says smiling. "But in the beginning I wasn't very good. My mom told me I had to sign up. It was the only sport where you didn't need to use your hands."
Elijah grew up in Taylorsville in Alexander County. Recently he and his family moved to Burlington, east of Greensboro, because his dad's job relocated.
"We miss our family and friends in Taylorsville," Alishia said. "We're making it work, but we do love to come home often. Right now though, our focus is on Elijah. Doctors say it's still early, but they expect him to make a full recovery. Hopefully a year from now we'll be looking back at this saying, ‘Wow. That was a crazy time in our life.'"
Click the attached video story to see this incredible boy, and the connection Anchor Molly Grantham says she could instantly see between he and his mom.
