Forsyth County teen battling leukemia gets special welcome home
High school marching band surprises member with leukemia with performance
A Forsyth County teen thought he'd be playing in the band with his friends until an aggressive form of leukemia tried to slow him down a month ago. His band mates wanted to be a silver lining in his new journey, so they gave him the surprise of a lifetime.
CUMMING, Ga. - Fourteen-year-old Elijah Banks loves his tenor saxophone and playing with the Flash of Crimson Marching Band at Forsyth Central High School.
"They treat you like family, and it's just music," he said. "It's something you can't really describe without hearing it."
The high school freshman had plans to play with the band all year until Oct. 13 when he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. A shock for him and his mom.
"My world just crashed down," his mom, Brandy Banks, said.
"It's not something I imagined. It was something I hoped wouldn't happen," Elijah said.
Elijah spent the next month in the hospital. He underwent chemo every 12 hours for 10 days. But through it all, he said he did his best to never be negative.
"If you don't think positively about it, things won't go how you want it," he said.
Elijah was released from the hospital last week. The day after he got home, he had a surprise from members of the marching band. A welcome home concert on his lawn.
"It was surprising, and it was really nice, and it was not something I expected," Elijah said.
About a quarter of the band came out. The gesture was special for his mom.
"I've never seen love pour out of an instrument, and we saw it that night," Brandy said.
It was not just magical for Elijah and his mom, but also for those who performed.
"I was actually really happy to see that so many people came to support him. It was just joyful," Abigail Vivier said.
This moment of kindness and compassion was something Elijah said he will not forget as he continues his battle with leukemia.
"It's just great to finally see people I haven't seen in a really long time and just for them to be out here and supporting something that I love," Elijah said.
Elijah has several more hospital stays in his future over the next year as he continues treatment.
His family is hoping for a good prognosis.
They created a GoFundMe.