Journey to St. Jude: Cha’Landria “ChaCha” McCall

When Cha’Landria “ChaCha” McCall hears the words “St. Jude,” she thinks of another powerful word—hope.

“St. Jude is providing hope to many families. There are many patients and staff who come from all over the world and all walks of life,” said McCall, who has been a pediatric oncology nurse at the renowned children’s hospital since June 2022. 

McCall was born in Tacoma, Washington, and has lived in Memphis since the age of 2. She has been familiar with St. Jude since childhood.

“I grew up next door to Paula Arnold, PhD, who has been a St. Jude pathologist for decades. From an early age, I was mesmerized by all the wonderful things that were being done at St. Jude. I volunteered at the hospital during the summer after graduating high school and was amazed by the friendliness of the staff,” she said.

As a nurse, McCall is particularly passionate about supporting patients with sickle cell disease. This inherited disorder affects every aspect of a patient’s body and can cause many complications in life. McCall knows this both as a medical professional and on a personal level.

“Initially, my dream was to learn as much about sickle cell disease as possible to better understand and care for my high school sweetheart, who was a sickle cell patient here at St. Jude,” she said. “All throughout high school, I would accompany him inpatient whenever he would have a pain crisis. It was my first true exposure to both St. Jude and the patient population.”

McCall said she later found out that both of her parents carry the trait for sickle cell. Thankfully, she was born without the trait or disease. 

“Unfortunately, my partner passed away in a car accident six months before I started working on the very floor that he used to be a patient on,” she said. “Losing him has driven my passion to new heights. At St. Jude, I love that learning never stops as there are always new protocols, procedures and diseases that are discovered. I feel honored to be part of the mission.”