Over Christmas 2020, something was clearly wrong with then one-year-old Mikayla.
She was pale. She didn’t want to eat or play. She didn’t giggle, even when tickled.
When bloodwork showed extremely low hemoglobin, she was hospitalized for several blood transfusions. These perked her up — but only temporarily.
Then a bone marrow biopsy showed Mikayla had blood cancer.
St. Jude patient Mikayla held by her mother.
"There are experiences, I think, in human life where we run out of tears, and that was one of them," said Mikayla's father Juan Manuel.
Mikayla was referred to St. Jude where her cancer was identified as acute myeloid leukemia.
St. Jude patient Mikayla with her mother and held by her grandmother.
Around this time, her great-grandmother received a certificate of appreciation for supporting St. Jude, to which she had donated for more than a decade. It seemed like a sign of hope.
Because of generous donors like you, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.
Mikayla successfully underwent chemotherapy. She is now finished with treatment and doing well.
Our Mikayla is back!
—Mikayla's grandmother
Your donation helps give kids like Mikayla the chance to grow up.