At St. Jude, Erma’s family turned cancer treatment into a year of celebration

The Eiffel Tower coloring sheets spilled out of an envelope sent from Erma’s school in Louisiana. 

Erma’s mom, Sarah, could almost picture the children sitting at their little tables in pre-kindergarten. She imagined them clutching their crayons earnestly as they settled into their task. When they finished coloring, Erma’s teacher had gathered up the papers and sent them to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® — just to add brightness to Erma’s day.

Erma smiled to see them all. She loved getting mail.

The coloring sheets became part of a decorative theme chosen by Erma herself. To celebrate round three of chemotherapy at St. Jude, she was having a Paris party.

Sarah, a middle school teacher, hung a poster for her daughter’s inpatient room: “Oui, Oui, Chemo Three. Erma in Paris.” 

She taped the Eiffel Towers to the wall, lined the room with a garland of French flags and affixed pink streamers to the doorway. Macarons were served.

Erma wore her most sparkly outfit because what else would one wear in Paris?

“She’s such a fashionista. She just loves anything that glitters and is fancy,” Sarah said.

Being a shiny, sparkly thing herself, it’s no wonder Erma gravitates to shiny things. Before cancer treatment, she would see a penny on the ground, grasp it in her little hand and put it in her pocket for safekeeping. Back at home, she would put the penny in her bank and say with an Erma-like resoluteness, “This is money for Paris.”

Paris, where she can wear her most sparkly outfits and eat macarons in cafes. Where she can be just like Fancy Nancy, the heroine of her favorite cartoon. 

Before cancer, Sarah used to have a hard time getting Erma to change out of her sparkly clothes. Now, Sarah doesn’t fight it. “I’m like, ‘Wear the princess dresses. Wear all the sparkly shoes and glittery cowboy boots,’” Sarah said. 

If Erma can’t get to Paris yet, Sarah and Erma’s dad, Caleb, will bring it to her — at St. Jude, a place that to them seems custom-built for kids and their dreams.

Darkness, then hope

In June 2025, Erma visited her pediatrician for a routine checkup. Unexpectedly, screening showed she had a mass above her adrenal gland. She was referred to St. Jude, arriving during the week before her 4th birthday.

At St. Jude, Erma was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, a cancer that most often begins in the nerve tissue of the adrenal gland. Scans also showed the cancer had spread to her bones. The week after her arrival in Memphis, Tennessee, she underwent surgery to have the adrenal mass removed. 

At first, it was hard to believe Erma had cancer. “She was very bouncy, very bubbly,” Caleb said. “Within about two weeks, her condition deteriorated very quickly. It was painful for her to walk. It was painful for her to move.” 

Genetic testing revealed Erma has an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutation. The ALK mutation can supercharge nerve cell tumor growth. She receives targeted ALK inhibition therapy as part of a treatment plan that has also included chemotherapy, immunotherapy, two stem cell transplants and proton beam radiotherapy.

“We knew right away that she was in a place where she was going to get the best care possible,” said Caleb, “and that’s given us a lot of hope.”

Theme o’ chemo

To help Erma through chemotherapy, her mom came up with the idea of “theme o’ chemo” parties. Every round of chemotherapy was kicked off with a themed celebration. 

“We decorated her room and made sure we had gifts to pass out to people,” Caleb said. 

The beginning of her treatment coincided with her birthday, so the first celebration was a birthday party theme with rainbows. 

Other themes have included Taylor Swift, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and “Frozen.” Erma’s art teacher back home sends huge posters. For “Frozen,” she sent a poster that said, “The chemo doesn’t bother me anyway,” a play on a lyric from the movie.

Round five of chemotherapy brought unicorns and horses. A giant sheet of craft paper proclaimed the theme: “Galloping Through Chemo, and Neigh-ver Giving Up.”

Erma wore pajamas dotted with unicorns and soft unicorn slippers. Pearlescent streamers shimmered behind her bed. Mylar unicorn balloons bobbed throughout the room. A garland of carousel horses looped at the perimeter. On the windowsill, stuffed horses and unicorns kept watch. 

Paper stars glowed in her window, each inscribed with handwritten messages of love:

Erma is my best friend.

Erma is strong and amazing.

Erma is beautiful and brave.

Erma’s parties were the talk of the floor, and people would often peek in.

“The nurses have had so much fun with it, too,” Sarah said. “They’re a blast. The care here is phenomenal.”

Empowered Erma

When people back home ask what St. Jude is like, Sarah and Caleb share stories of surprising happiness. They talk about how after Erma’s surgery, to get her up and moving, her physical therapists created a scavenger hunt, asking her to find pictures up and down the hallway. The work of physical therapy felt like fun to Erma. At first, she relied on a walker, but after a few steps, she said, “I want to run.” 

“She really hadn’t walked in a couple of weeks, and her face lit up, and she was like, ‘Dad, I’m running again!’” Caleb said.

Sarah and Caleb recall the hours Erma spent attached to a machine for a stem cell procedure, worrying how their energetic little girl would tolerate it. Her care team had it covered. At intervals throughout the day, a steady stream of visitors came to keep her company. She colored with her child life specialist, played the ukelele with her music therapist and snuggled with CC, short for “Chocolate Chip,” a St. Jude facility dog.

Erma’s child life specialists sat with her, explaining each aspect of treatment. “They’ve created ways to communicate with her about very difficult and complex things in ways she can understand,” Caleb said. “They have empowered her.”

Well before she lost her hair, she knew all about it. One day at St. Jude, Erma woke up and told her parents it was time. “I want to shave my head,” she told her parents.

The week before, as her hair began falling out, the staff at the St. Jude hair salon had given her rainbow hair extensions and cut her hair into a bob.

Now it was time to say goodbye to all of it, and she wasn’t afraid. As the clippers cut off her last wisps of hair, she looked in the mirror and beamed. “Mom, I’m beautiful,” Erma said.

Sarah kissed her on the head. “Yeah, you are.”

“No one wants this journey for their child,” Sarah said. “But if we have to do it anywhere and walk through it, I am so thankful that we get to walk through it with St. Jude.”

Experiencing life

Since arriving at St. Jude, Erma has celebrated so much. “She has had a tremendous 4-year-old year, and she’s been allowed to be a kid, make friends and thrive,” Caleb said. 

She started pre-K at Imagination Academy by Chili’s, the St. Jude on-campus school. She joined a stop-motion club, where she makes clay animations.

She played with her younger brother, Johnny, on the playdeck at The Domino’s Village, the St. Jude housing where her family lived for several months. 

“She attended a fall Chili’s cookout where she got to listen to a kangaroo-ish deer with a ukulele singing songs and was thoroughly entertained,” Caleb said. All the while making new friends. 

In Family Commons— a nonclinical space for patients and families — she created art on an iPad and printed them as stickers to share with everyone. At the music space, she danced and even “couraged up the bravery to sing karaoke,” Caleb said. A song from “Frozen,” of course.

Also at St. Jude, Erma celebrated Christmas in July, attended a circus and met the country music artist Megan Maroney, who sang a special concert.

And every time a new part of her treatment started, her parents threw the biggest party.

“She is just a firecracker,” Sarah said. “She’s so spirited. She’s definitely experiencing life. It’s a little different than we expected, but it’s still really beautiful. And special.”