SPRINGDALE -- Friends and family of an area high school student battling cancer hope the community will offer some pedal-powered support this weekend.
Elijah High, 14, of Bella Vista has spent the past year undergoing treatments in his fight against brain cancer.
Recently, his family learned his tumor has grown, so the Haas Hall Bentonville student is now going through chemotherapy and radiation treatments again at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.
Friends of Elijah's family have organized a support ride, set for this weekend in Springdale, to help support the family financially as they make trips to the hospital and his parents continue to use up their paid leave from work.
The six-mile ride begins at 2 p.m. Sunday at 2474 W. Pump Station Road in Springdale. The group will travel on the Razorback Greenway to the Shiloh Museum Pavilion and back.
Organizers encourage participants to travel on their bike, roller blades or skateboard and decorate their ride with gold to show support for the fight against childhood cancer.
Dori Maddry, a friend of the family whose daughter also battled cancer, pointed out Elijah was on the mountain biking team for Haas Hall prior to cancer.
"We'd love for our Bella Vista community and the biking community of NWA to come out to support Elijah and his family, and for them to know they are not alone in this journey," she said.
People can sign up for the #ElijahStrong Support Ride by searching for the event on Venmo or by searching for the username @Renee-VanHersh. Van Hersh is a friend of the family and fellow parent on the Haas Mountain Bike Team, said Heather High, Elijah's mother. Van Hersh is taking the donations and handling the sign-ups, she said. There is a $5 registration fee for participants.
"Elijah's tumor was the size of a tennis ball before two-thirds was removed last September," Heather High said via email.
She said the tumor type is rare and highly aggressive. Her son went through brain surgery, 33 rounds of radiation and five rounds of chemo that was keeping it stable for almost a year, until it was found during an emergency room visit in August to be growing again, Heather High said.
"He just completed 10 more rounds of radiation and is doing chemo every other Friday in Memphis at St. Jude for a year to hopefully give him more time," she said.
Heather High and her husband, Dustin, are both teachers in the Bentonville School District. Heather High teaches at Cooper Elementary and Dustin High teaches at Ardis Ann Middle School.
"We have almost exhausted all of our sick days and catastrophic leave, so we're soon facing leave without pay," Heather High said.
She pointed out her son is an honor roll student at Haas Hall in addition to his athletic achievements. He is the oldest of four children as well.
"He is incredibly smart and talented and has dreamed of going to MIT to become a mechanical engineer since he was 7," she said, noting he has been an avid mountain biker and even raced for his school's team in the Arkansas league of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.
Those unable to attend Sunday's ride can still help the family out through a GoFundMe page at gofund.me/9f079dc7.