This year, Elizabeth wants to dress up like a lion for Halloween. “She likes lions because they’re big and have manes and are orange,” her mom said. “She wants to roar loudly like a lion while she’s trick-or-treating.”
Elizabeth’s parents are grateful she’s happy and thriving. In August 2013, tests revealed Elizabeth suffered from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of blood cancer. Elizabeth’s doctor immediately referred her to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she began two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy.

St. Jude patient Elizabeth in her Halloween costume in 2015.
During Elizabeth’s first year of treatment, she was inpatient during Halloween. Her mother remembers the bright, cheerful Halloween-themed drawings on the windows in the hallways outside of her hospital room. It was a way for St. Jude staff to bring Halloween to the kids who weren’t able to trick-or-treat. “People at St. Jude love their jobs, and they’re great with the kids,” said Elizabeth’s mom. “And that made it so much easier to be here.”
Elizabeth recently finished treatment and now visits St. Jude for regular checkups. Her family is grateful for how well she’s doing today. “Thanks to the people who donate to St. Jude, children who were never going to have a chance in life now have a chance,” said her mom. Because the majority of St. Jude funding comes from everyday people, St. Jude has the freedom to focus on what matters most — saving kids regardless of their financial situation.
Help our families focus on their sick child, not medical bills.
When you donate monthly, your gift means families, like Elizabeth's, never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
Meet more patients
-
Meet Luna
When St. Jude patient Luna started to feel sick, her parents became concerned. Doctors in Guatemala confirmed what her parents had feared, Luna had leukemia.
-
Meet Griffin
As an Air Force family stationed abroad, Griffin’s family was living in Germany when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia on Veteran’s Day 2019.
-
Meet Krew
What started out as a seemingly innocent bump on the head was later heartbreakingly revealed as cancer. Krew was diagnosed with leukemia at just 7 months old.
-
Meet Jean Pierre
At 18, Jean Pierre is headed to university. At three years old, he was treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® for craniopharyngioma, a slow-growing brain tumor.
-
Meet Ava
Five-year-old Ava had a cancerous brain tumor called medulloblastoma. Referred to St. Jude, she underwent a second surgery, proton therapy and chemotherapy.
-
Meet Sariyah
In the summer of 2020, photos taken of St. Jude patient Sariyah by her mother showed signs of cancerous tumors in both eyes at the age of 18 months.
-
Meet Patient Lucas
Around Thanksgiving of 2020, three-year-old Lucas was complaining of headaches. His parents thought he just wanted attention. An MRI indicated something more serious.
-
Meet Eri'Elle
Eri’Elle was just two years old when her troubles started. Her mother took her to a pediatrician and insisted they run tests to get to the bottom of her baby’s symptoms.
-
Meet Scarlet
At St. Jude, Scarlet and her mom lived at Target House for half a year while Scarlet was in treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. Her family never received a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food. .
-
Meet Gabe
When the lights on the Christmas tree hurt Gabe’s eyes, his mom knew something was wrong.
-
Meet Calvin
At St. Jude, Calvin underwent chemotherapy, proton therapy and radiation treatments for rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the soft tissue. He continues to receive treatment at St. Jude, having experienced a recurrence of cancer in 2020.
-
Meet Lydia
Lydia has an unusual hobby for a kid her age: reading scholarly articles in medical journals. But not just any articles. She’s interested in those authored by Dr. Gajjar, the man – along with nurses and researchers and others at St. Jude – working to save her life.
-
Meet Gracie
Gracie was eight months old when she was diagnosed with blood cancer. She underwent chemotherapy and physical, occupational and speech therapies at St. Jude.
-
Meet Patient Mikayla
Over Christmas 2020, something was wrong with then one-year-old Mikayla. Referred to St. Jude, her cancer was identified as acute myeloid leukemia. Mikayla successfully underwent chemotherapy.
-
Meet Weiming
Weiming was diagnosed with a rare disease, an immunodeficiency known as bubble boy disease and came to St. Jude at just four months from his home country of China.