Shortly after Ximena was born, her mother, Nora, noticed one of her daughter’s eyes was becoming an opaque gray. The doctor thought it was due to a misaligned eye, a condition Ximena’s brother has, too.
Then, several months later, Ximena had a seizure. Her parents rushed her to the emergency room, where an MRI revealed a tumor in Ximena’s right eye.
Tests revealed Ximena suffered from retinoblastoma, a type of eye cancer. “They told me her life was in danger,” Nora said. The doctors referred the family to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened 53 years ago.
Ximena is an angel. She is the one who makes me feel better at the worst of times.
Nora, Ximena's mom
“We were on a dark path,” Nora said. “But when we arrived at St. Jude, it was like seeing light on the path.” Ximena’s treatment has included chemotherapy, several surgeries and radiation therapy. Ximena’s right eye had to be removed because of tumor growth, but despite everything, she’s a happy child.
Nora describes Ximena as a warrior. “She’s brave, and she’s beautiful,” Nora said. “Ximena is an angel. She is the one who makes me feel better at the worst of times.”
Ximena loves to play with her dolls and plan elaborate make-believe meals in her toy kitchen. She also loves music and dancing.
Thanks to donors like you, families like Ximena's never receive a bill from St. Jude for anything.
Meet more patients
-
Meet Harmony
Harmony is artistic, detailed-oriented and loves to debate. When she noticed something was wrong on her walks to class, no one expected the cause to be a stage four Wilms tumor.
-
Meet Marina
Marina is a joyful 2-year-old who loves to laugh and dance with her siblings. She was referred to St. Jude after a white glimmer in her pupil led to her being diagnosed with retinoblastoma, an eye cancer.
-
Meet Mia
Mia is a friendly, caring child who was referred to St. Jude from her home country of Nicaragua when she was 5 years old. She was diagnosed with anaplastic ependymoma, a malignant tumor in her brain.
-
Meet Luis
Like many boys his age, Luis wanted to be a soccer player when he grew up. But then he was diagnosed with cancer. Now he wants to help kids like him.
-
Meet Eleanor
Eleanor is a determined baby who arrived at St. Jude on her first birthday. She was diagnosed with down syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer.
-
Meet Fletcher
Fletcher is a 12-year-old boy and a huge Cleveland Browns fan. So it was a dream come true when he announced the team's pick in the NFL draft on April 23.
-
Meet Jamia
Jamia is weathering difficulties far beyond her years as she undergoes treatment for neuroblastoma, a type of cancer arising from nerve cells.
-
Meet Deuce
Deuce is a fun-loving kid who's undergoing treatment for a rare type of blood cancer.
-
Meet Marric
Marric and his family had specific needs going into his treatment for lymph system cancer, but they never imagined how many of them would be met and exceeded at St. Jude.
-
Meet Colton
Colton is a 9-year-old boy who's used to being active in every area of life. And while an aggresive form of kidney cancer might have threatened that, St. Jude was right by his side.
-
Meet Caitlyn
Being diagnosed with a brain tumor was one of the scariest experiences for Caitlyn and her family. But her fears are being eased with St. Jude by their side.
-
Meet Alana
Alana didn't let a cancer diagnosis get in the way of her dreams for the future. Neither did St. Jude.
-
Meet patient Lillian (Lily)
Lillian (Lily) and her sister, Emmy, are inseparable, and always on the move. St. Jude is keeping them that way.
-
Meet Declan
Declan and his sister are best friends. So when he had to come to St. Jude for treatment, she was there by his side every step of the way.
-
Meet Maryelle
Maryelle was diagnosed with a rare disorder that left her family with little hope.