Pablo Jose's story
Pablo Jose is an active boy and, recently, his father, Edgar, watched in amazement as he pushed on one leg to make his scooter go faster. Not long ago his son was in a wheelchair due to a cancer relapse.
Pablo Jose was diagnosed with a blood cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in 2021 at the age of 5 in his homeland of Guatemala. ALL is the most common type of childhood cancer.
Pablo Jose received chemotherapy treatment in Guatemala and responded to the treatment. But after 18 months, he began to experience fevers and the same body pain he had felt before his initial diagnosis. The monthly chemo sessions were suspended, and further tests revealed the leukemia had returned.
Doctors in Guatemala told Pablo Jose’s parents that they could only offer him palliative care.
“It was very hard,” Edgar said.
Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — so they can focus on helping their child live.
Pablo Jose’s parents requested other options from Guatemalan doctors who then referred him to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where he could receive a bone marrow transplant.
"We said if that is what needs to be done then let’s do it," said Edgar.
Edgar and his son flew to St. Jude in May 2023. At St. Jude, Pablo Jose received chemotherapy, then radiation therapy, and in August he received a bone marrow transplant. His sister, Valeria, who flew to Memphis in July with their mom, served as his donor. Pablo Jose is in Memphis being monitored post-transplant.
St. Jude won’t stop until no child dies from cancer, no matter where they live.
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