Elijah William McFerrin

Elijah William McFerrin, age 23, went to serve in God’s heavenly army on Friday, November 17, 2023, at his home in Roseburg. He lost his intolerable 3-year battle with severe daily chronic pain and incurable illnesses.  He is victoriously battling evil in God's army to protect his loved ones!  We are grateful his pain and suffering has ended, though we selfishly long for him to still be with us.

Elijah was born in Roseburg Oregon September 12, 2000.  He lived in Roseburg his entire life, though he had traveled to almost every state and Canada. He graduated high school in Roseburg at age 16 and attended Umpqua Community College until illness prevented continuing education. In his younger years he attended Umpqua Valley Christian School where he made life-long friends.

Elijah was an avid gamer and had a tight circle of friends around the world through Arma. They describe him as a leader, a brother, and a genuine friend. They say Elijah was a light in a darkened world with the ability to bring a smile, joy, and laughter to his circle of friends. 

Elijah loved military history, was a gifted artist, and enjoyed time golfing with his Grandma Debbie. He thrived on spending time with his immediate family just chatting, cooking, or playing games.  He had a quick wit and an extremely sharp mind. Elijah’s two favorite pastimes were ‘ribbing’ his mom and ‘tossing it back and forth’ with his brothers.  It was a delight to watch all the banter and hear the laughter generated by Elijah’s incredible sense of humor! 

Elijah’s dream was to be a pilot in the military though his health prevented that dream from coming true. Before his chronic pain and illnesses, he was a very hard worker and enjoyed his time employed at The Home Depot helping others.  After his chronic pain and illnesses began in 2020, he enjoyed gunsmithing and time building and designing computer systems.

Many people describe Elijah as ‘our gentle giant’.  He had a very tender and kind heart with people and animals, especially his lab, Maggie.  Elijah’s care for others was demonstrated in many ways. As a volunteer with LifeCare Elijah especially enjoyed going with his Papa, Chaplain Roger, to thank and bless the workers at 911, EMS, Fire, and Police departments.  He honored and respected those who serve us in uniform.

He delighted in cooking and sharing new creative dishes to surprise his family.  He was a knowledgeable gun collector and enthusiast, a gifted gunsmith, a natural golfer, a wise hunter, and skilled flight simulator pilot. We imagine he is now flying everything possible and waving with his wide grin from above.

He will be dearly missed by his family and friends. Elijah’s memorial celebration website is published at: www.MyKeeper.com/profile/ElijahMcFerrin.  Please leave your favorite memory of Elijah and/or a note for the family, as no public service is planned.

Elijah is survived by his mother, Mindy Simpson McFerrin, three brothers: Isaac, Isaiah, and Jeremiah McFerrin, all of Roseburg.  Sister Ashley and Brother-in Law Michael Quamen and children Raelynn and Lawrence. His father Scott Henry McFerrin of Sutherlin. He is also survived by his grandparents: Roger & Debbie Horton of Roseburg and Jim Simpson of Roseburg, Larry & Terry McFerrin of Prineville OR, Ralph Lester of Washington, Joanne McFerrin of Sutherlin, Uncle Daniel & Aunt Wendy Horton of Alberta Canada, Uncle Scott & Aunt Grace Simpson of Roseburg; Aunt Stephanie Bell of Idaho, great-grandmother Josie Baird of Umpqua, and numerous other aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Elijah, we are going to miss your warm bear hugs; your big, booming laugh, your quick wit and sharp comebacks, and your generous kind spirit. You are loved and missed so much by us! Words are insufficient to describe our pain and loss amid your new freedom and joy. 

Donations in Elijah’s name can be sent to: LifeCare, 575 NE Channon Ave., Roseburg OR 97470

 

Elijah William McFerrin       *        09/12/2000 ~ 11/17/2023            *        His Story

As a family, we wanted to thank each of you for the tremendous outpouring of love and support you have shown us during the most difficult time we’ve ever experienced. The loss of our beloved Elijah has been paralyzing for each one of us. Our lives will never be the same. 

After much consideration, we have decided to share with you more about Elijah’s life in hopes it can help you better understand him and get to know him just a little. We hope to share some of Elijah’s story on his behalf, and to provide each of you with a sense of understanding and compassion for him.

Elijah was our ‘Gentle Giant’.  His big bear hugs were the best, wrapping us in a feeling in those moments that everything was okay.  He cared about many people, he had a high interest and stellar focus in all his pursuits.  He really enjoyed being a helper wherever he saw a need. He especially loved his chocolate Lab, Maggie, and enjoyed interacting with the other four family pets: Zeke, Loki, Lucy and Squidward.

He loved to cook and come up with creative dishes to serve his family and friends.  He got great joy out of ribbing his mom and bantering with his brothers.  Other pleasures in Elijah’s life were:  gaming, building computers, gunsmithing, shooting, hunting, golfing, flying, participation in history groups, strategic planning related to ways of protecting the country he loved so much.  Elijah enjoyed any opportunity to serve in our local community through LifeCare, by helping neighbors, and by doing many things to assist family and friends. 

From the time he was just a little boy, his life dream was to serve in the military as a pilot and engineer.  He began college a week after turning 17 to pursue engineering which he hoped to use in military service.  However, those dreams were ended when the military denied him due to multiple neural tube genetic defects caused by Agent Orange.

Tragically, in the last 4 years, his interests and pursuits were progressively more and more limited due to his deteriorating health that prevented him from leaving his home.  Prior to 2020, Elijah loved getting an education and working at his job that brought him much fulfillment and pride. 

Elijah had Asperger’s Syndrome with an IQ of 154. The combination of these two put him in a category of a 66% likelihood of suicide, which we did not know until after his death. He was 12 years old when he got his first four diagnoses of neural tube defects in his spine.  It only got worse from there as he grew and aged. We are including a list of the things he has been dealing with for much of his life. They are things that don’t get better, things he couldn’t ever get free from, and some he couldn’t get the proper medical treatments and care he needed, no matter how diligently we advocated on his behalf. 

We were in the process of trying to find a doctor to order the MRI to determine what possible treatment options might be available for Elijah’s severe spine, back and hip pain.  We were also in the process of trying to get Elijah ulcerative colitis medication that could possibly put him in remission.  However, insurance required Elijah to use each of the lower cost medications for several months before they would consider paying for the high-cost medications that may have helped him reach remission. The out-of-pocket cost of $3,000 or more monthly was out of our financial reach, thus Elijah was dependent on medication that insurance allowed for him. He was simply tired of waiting, tired of suffering, tired of not being able to leave his home, and tired of having no income producing career or assistance.   

Elijah was desperate for insurance to provide him with the medication that could have helped control his ulcerative colitis. Their insistence that he continue trying every pill, before getting infusions kept his ulcerative colitis uncontrolled causing migrating arthritis.  He had been researching, (on his own), into the prognosis related to his multiple neural tube genetic defects.  The more he discovered, the more he felt his situation was completely hopeless. He realized there were no cures and that there would be multiple surgeries in his future.  Watching his mother suffer with many of the same conditions for 23 years, he was not able to accept that as his life, nor his future.

Attempts at getting Elijah therapeutic mental health treatments of any kind were unsuccessful.  For the past few years, Elijah was physically tormented to the point that processing our love, support, care, and suggestions for help  were simply being drowned out by the pain and misery.

Some of the physical, mental, and emotional drains and stressors on Elijah are easy to see in the severity of his suffering as evidenced below: 

1. the ulcerative colitis drained him daily and he couldn’t leave his home, not being able to make it to the restroom most days on time
2. four ambulance rides in 2023 from severe pain, fainting, excessive bleeding
3. ten emergency room visits seeking help with the pain
4. one ambulance transfer from Roseburg to Sacred Heart Springfield for bleeding
5. two days in the hospital due to uncontrolled bleeding
6. multiple doctor appointments
7. twelve medical tests & procedures
8. six iron infusions
9. inability to walk or get out of bed many days due to extreme joint, hip, and back pain
10. inability to participate in outside activities caused his increasing sense of isolation
11. checking weekly in hopes his disability application for income would be approved (his application had been at 90% since May 2023)

The above items were all between January 1st and November 09th, 2023, the last ten months of his life. Elijah was in so much pain that he was increasingly unable to walk on his own. 

Elijah needed help from his brothers to shuffle to the bathroom, to get in and out of the shower and any other areas.  A wheelchair was required to get Elijah to his final medical tests and doctor appointments in the last month of his life. He was waiting for the MRI to be ordered.  He was waiting for insurance to approve a new medication.  He was waiting for Social Security Disability to approve his application.  He was just too tired of suffering to wait any longer.  Help did not come to him fast enough in several areas.

Medical Conditions& Date of Diagnosis:

1. Asperger’s Syndrome with rigid thinking:2008
2. Spina Bifida Occulta @ L5:2013
3. L2 and L3 Disc Bulge, worsening:2013
4. L3 andL4 Disc Bulge, worsening:2013
5. T1 and T2 Lesions @ L3 Endplates:2013
6. Meralgia Paresthetica:2015
7. Spinal Arthritis, worsening:2015
8. Dextrocurvature centered @ T9:2016
9. Ulcerative Colitis, uncontrolled:2020 December
10. Iron deficiency, uncontrolled:2020 December
11. Migrating Arthritis, uncontrolled:2021 October
12. Bone Island w/hip pain, uncontrolled:2023 October
13. Hopelessness & Death:2023 November 17

What we want people to know about Elijah is that he persevered in the face of pain for half his life. He endured unbearable pain and misery in his last few years.  The increasing severity of the pain and horrific other symptoms became too much for him on November 17, 2023, and he chose to end his life of suffering and torment. 

We will miss him always.  We will love him forever.  We believe we will see him again someday in Heaven.  Our current pain and grief are only eased in remembering Elijah is no longer struggling with misery, pain, and hopelessness.  He is finally at peace, surrounded by the family and friends that preceded him to eternity. We imagine he is serving in God’s army and flying any type of aircraft he desires.  We hope he gets to use his engineering mind to create new ways to protect all of us while we wait for the return of Jesus or are called home to join Elijah.

Our wish is for each of you to know and understand a little more about our beloved “Gentle Giant”, Elijah William McFerrin.  Two physicians who knew Elijah and his incurable issues both stated, (separate of each other), that his last act was out of love for his family as he felt he was going to be a life-long burden, and they both stated it took great courage from Elijah for him to leave us. 

One of these doctors’ lives in Arizona and the other in Los Angeles.  They do not know each other and called with this message within one day of each other.  There have been others with this same message to us saying his death was a self-less act of love and courage.

We invite you to visit his developing memorial website to watch a video and view some photos in honor of him. 

You can also leave a note for family, a memory about Elijah, and/or photos of Elijah.  

https://www.mykeeper.com/profile/ElijahMcferrin/

Thank you to each of you for all the care, support, prayers, gifts, cards, calls, texts and generous gifts.

Elijah’s family:  Mindy, Isaac, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Debbie & Roger