‘Major General’ Eli Tadli Inspires through Strength and Resiliency
Tadli became “pilot for a day” at Joint Base Andrews, earning a VIP tour and the respect of the wingmates and FAA air traffic professionals he encountered.
By C. Troxell, FAA
Eli Tadli is the quintessence of resiliency. This month, Eli showed the wingmates and FAA air traffic professionals at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland a thing or two about bouncing back from adversity, and, in return, they shared with him a few things about aviation.
At just 8 years old, Eli has endured an uphill battle that most people don’t experience their entire lives — brain cancer, followed by treatment-related leukemia, followed by severe bone marrow transplant complications.
The Check-6 Foundation at Andrews, supporting children battling serious illnesses, selected Eli as their guest of honor for their biannual Pilot for a Day event. The foundation presented Eli with a personalized wing suit, put him behind the simulator controls of a helicopter and fighter jet, gave him tours of a KC-135 Stratotanker and F-16 Viper, ate lunch with him aboard a C-40, and a showed him the air traffic control tower. Eli also got a police escort, toured a police chopper and visited the fire department.
“To see his face when he received the gifts and to see all the support and everything was really rewarding,” said the tower’s acting air traffic manager, Philip Dorcely, who presented Eli with an honorary flight strip, air traffic control memorabilia and foam slime made by Dorcely’s 12-year-old daughter, who took initiative to craft the gift upon hearing of the program.
Dorcely added that the Pilot for a Day visits have a positive impact on air traffic professionals at the tower and beyond, showing them firsthand the amazing strength and perseverance of children, like Eli, with severe illnesses.
In 2016, at age 2, Eli was diagnosed with rare, atypical brain tumor and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Three years later he was diagnosed with treatment-related pre-leukemia and underwent a bone marrow transplant as preventative treatment. Last summer, Eli was diagnosed with severe chronic graft versus host disease (in which donor cells attack the recipient) of the lungs and skin.
Eli has been on a treatment plan incorporating a clinical trial drug over the past several months; the results have been astounding as his mobility and breathing have improved significantly.
“He’s doing so much better,” said Eli’s stepfather, Joe Troutman, who attended the Pilot for a Day event along with Eli’s mother, Jen Knox. “I mean, we weren’t sure he was going to make it. It was bad. He spent months in the hospital last year….
“The kid is a fighter of all fighters,” Troutman added. “I mean, he couldn’t even walk more than five steps a couple months ago.” So much has changed since then — to the point where Eli is set to run the kids’ dash in the D.C.-based “Race for Every Child” fundraiser on Oct. 15.
Upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, a post commander promoted Eli to major general, putting him in charge for the day. Every officer stood at Eli’s attention until he released them.
“The base was just amazing,” said Troutman, an Army veteran. “The personnel there were clapping and cheering for him. It just melts your heart.”
While Eli has gained a strong liking for aviation after his visit to Andrews, right now his sights are on football more than anything else. Troutman said, “He knows everything about football; he even corrects his grandfather,” Bob Knox, a 2018 inductee into the Maryland Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. “The kid is an NFL encyclopedia.”
A fanatic of the NFL’s winningest quarterback, Eli provided his analysis of opening week: “Tom Brady won and almost every field goal was missed!” Eli is expecting a call from an ESPN recruiter in the near future.
