Staff Writer

After major surgery, most 9-year-olds would merely take it easy. But not Elan Arnowitz: From the comfort of his Baltimore hospital bed, this youngster has decided "to go public."

A fourth-grader at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Elan has Perthes disease, a degenerative hip condition that causes immobility and leg pain. The only fix was a major form of hip surgery that took place at Baltimore's Sinai Hospital. Though successful, the operation has had the Rockville youngster confined to a hospital bed since the start of November.

"Not many kids my age have been through what I've been through," Elan said, referring not to his condition, but rather to his family's decision to take his story and life online in the form of multiple Web sites, blogs and Internet forums.

After nearly two months of nonstop posting and updating to his site (www.caringbridge.org/visit/elan), Elan has become an Internet superstar of sorts, receiving nods from not only family members, but various celebrities and sports heroes as well.

"It's really cool ... because you get to do stuff all over the world," Elan said, explaining that he even keeps up with his schoolwork by attending JDS classes virtually, using a webcam and the online communications service Skype. "Not a lot of people get to have a Web site and Skype into class; this has just been a very different and weird experience for me."

This knack for Internet savvy, however, is not unique within the Arnowitz family; Elan's father, Mitch, is the founder and managing director of Tuvel Communications, an online advertising firm based in Rockville. He aided his son's online endeavors by providing Elan with a MacBook and tips on how best to get out the word.

"Here's a kid that's in recovery and he has time on his hands, is equipped with a new MacBook and is bright," Arnowitz said. "He started to build an online community by posting [updates on his recovery process] every day."

Through massive e-mail lists and social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, Elan's popularity spread. "As Elan started to post frequently, people would pass along the Web site address" to other friends and family members within the Greater D.C. Jewish community, Arnowitz said. "It's really simple syndication."

On the majority of social networking sites, once a member posts a Web address, or link, it can be viewed by any person who happens upon the member's site. Similarly, on Facebook, a member can post a Web address or make a comment, which is then viewable for each of the member's Facebook "friends." In this manner, information travels quickly and is accessible to vast numbers of online individuals.

Though tricky and sometimes enigmatic for adults, social networking is second nature to children Elan's age. "The difference is ... I had to aquire these skills a dozen years ago, but for Elan, he's 9, he's learned it and gets it. For a 9-year-old, it's totally intuitive" to live life online, Arnowitz explained.

Elan will "take his cell phone and snap a picture and upload it to his Web site for the home page." While most do not necessarily think in these terms, "kids don't think to do anything but that stuff," his dad said.

After just two weeks, Elan's Web site had garnered more than 2,000 visitors and this week boasts nearly 4,700 -- with quite a few of them leaving Chanukah greetings. In fact, the site is so closely followed by some that if "I don't post, people think I'm not feeling well" and will respond with e-mails and comments, Elan explained.

Celebrities have also logged on to Elan's Web site after hearing about it through the Internet grapevine.

After writing an "innocuous" post on a high school reunion Web site, Jan Arnowitz, Elan's mother, heard back from an old friend who now works as a rock promoter. He caught wind of the Web site, saw pictures of Elan playing guitar and urged rock guitarist Bobby Ingram, of the band Molly Hatchet, to leave a posting for Elan. The band even dedicated a song to him while on tour in Europe.

Similarly, Sports Illustrated writer and CBS commentator Seth Davis was touched by Elan's story after hearing of it through his father, who is on the family's e-mail list. Davis not only posted to the Web site, but called Elan during half-time of a college football game between Georgetown University and the University of Memphis.

In the wake of his online popularity, Elan refuses to let his school work suffer. In conjunction with JDS, he is able to participate in Hebrew, math and English classes via webcam until he is able to return to school later this month.

"I do school in bed while I have my breakfast," Elan explained. "I angle the camera so I can see the teacher and the board. It's everything I would do in regular school."

"He participated and asked questions and the most important thing is he was part of the exchange with the children," said Sandy Rolef, JDS lower school principal. "It was like he was really there."

Nadav Anolik, 9, a fellow JDS student who has participated in classroom Skype sessions with Elan, said, "In English class we could see him on the computer" and that Elan was able to participate like any other student.

Rolef was unsure if any other students had learned from afar in this manner, but said, "We certainly will do this in the future. It's great for self-esteem."