One family, two journeys
Raeleigh's mom brought her baby sister into the world the day before Raeleigh was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Now they're learning to manage both, together as a family at St. Jude.
April 16, 2018, was to be a special day for Raeleigh. She had just become a big sister and was going to the hospital to meet the baby for the very first time. But the visit had to be postponed when she developed a low fever and leg pains.
Then, bloodwork showed Raeleigh’s white blood cell count was seriously elevated. While her mother was recovering in one hospital with Raeleigh’s newborn sister, Raeleigh was admitted to another.
The next day, Raeleigh’s mom was discharged, and Raeleigh was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of blood cancer.
I threw everything that I could in a bag because we were being sent the next day to St. Jude.
Treatments invented at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago.
Following a week in which Raeleigh was inpatient, the family of four was provided a place to live during the next phase of Raeleigh’s treatment, at no cost to them — because families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.
“It was a lot of help to have our own space,” said her mom. Especially with the baby.
St. Jude patient Raeleigh with her mom, Kasey
Raeleigh will receive about two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy and so far, she is handling it like a champ.
“She's basically your normal 4-year-old,” said her mom, “no side effects, no nausea, no throwing up.”
Meet more patients
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Meet Jamelia
At 4 years old, Jamelia felt bad and saw blood in her urine. Diagnosed with renal cell cancer, she was referred to St. Jude for treatment including proton therapy.
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Meet patient Jacob
Jacob had frequent headaches and wasn’t himself. Diagnosed with leukemia, he was referred to St. Jude for treatment including chemotherapy to try and save his life.
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Meet Levi
Levi was found to have acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and was quickly referred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where he began chemotherapy.
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Meet Alfredo
It started when Alfredo had unexplained bruises and a constant fever. A local doctor who called for bloodwork and results confirmed that he had leukemia.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. .
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Meet Gabe
When the lights on the Christmas tree hurt Gabe’s eyes, his mom knew something was wrong.
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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.
She loves clothes and dressing up, and is, her parents say, “smart” and “bossy” and “very independent.”
In fact, she is so independent, she has decided all on her own that when back at home, she will live across the street at her grandmother’s house. That’s where her young aunt lives, and those two are inseparable, “like peas and carrots,” said her mom.
The day that Raeleigh was admitted to the hospital for symptoms was also the day her mother gave birth to Raeleigh's sister.
Help our families focus on their sick child, not medical bills.
When you donate monthly, your gift means families, like Raeleigh'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.
