This year I am celebrating the incredible milestone of 25 years cancer free thanks to the lifesaving treatment of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital! Here is a bit of my story:Soon after birth, I was admitted to the NICU due to medical complications. After an MRI revealed a mass in my abdomen, I went into surgery at 7 days old to biopsy the tumor. The tumor was revealed to be cancerous, and I was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. At the time I was born in 1998, 8 in one million children were born with cancer, and I became one of them. I began my first round of chemotherapy at 8 days old becoming, at the time, the youngest patient to receive chemo at St. Jude's Midwest Affiliate. I proceeded to undergo 6 rounds of chemo, only for the tumor to shrink 34%. Due to the seemingly ineffective chemotherapy, doctors recommended surgery to remove the tumor. On March 17, 1999 I went into an expectedly lengthy surgery. However, after only being in surgery for a couple hours, the neurosurgeon came into the waiting room to tell my family that the tumor was no longer there! The doctors believe the chemotherapy had a delayed impact which helped to ultimately eliminate the cancer. It was certainly a MIRACLE!On this anniversary year, I have been reflecting on my story. I am so blessed that I was an infant and do not have memory of the pain and sickness that I endured as a cancer patient. On the other hand, my family had to witness all of my pain and sickness - especially my parents. Instead of focusing on the adjustment of bringing their first child into the world and their family, they had to also endure the challenge of loving and caring for a very sick baby. I will be eternally grateful I received treatment at St. Jude - not just because of their world-class care, but because of how well they take care of patients' families. My doctors understood the importance of trying to bring a sense of normalcy to my parents, allowing them to bring me home as much as was possible based on my treatment and condition. St. Jude also removes much of the financial burden as they do not ask families to pay for a SINGLE penny of their child's treatment. My parents have shared stories of them taking stacks of bills to the secretary at the St. Jude clinic, and St. Jude would take care of it all. Most importantly, they provided unwavering HOPE to my family during an unimaginable time. Although I do not remember my time as a cancer patient, my tumor created nerve damage resulting in my left foot being partially paralyzed. I have worn either an ankle foot orthotic (AFO) or supramalleolar orthotic (SMO) most of my life and have undergone two surgeries to help correct the positioning of my foot. Each day when I put on my SMO, I am reminded of my story and the incredible efforts of St. Jude. Due to the hope and strength that cancer survivorship instilled in me from a young age, I have never allowed it to hold me back. And I am grateful to have parents that never let it either! As a child I took dance lessons, and was the only little girl in tennis shoes at ballet; joined swim team, and would almost always get disqualified on the breaststroke because of my foot not moving properly - prompting my dad to explain my paralysis to the ref to keep my time in; and my passion for cheerleading led to nearly 10 years of figuring out how to tumble, jump and stunt with an ankle that wouldn't bend. When I think back to all of these instances, they are actually happy memories of perseverance. And maybe due to my survivorship I knew deep down (even when I was little) that life is precious and there is no point worrying about how I might be different or what anyone else thinks. In fact, St. Jude and my family simultaneously made me feel special and 'just like any other kid' since I was born - and I believe that made all the difference. St. Jude has not only blessed me with the gift of life, but they have also instilled several core values (many that I have already touched on) that I try my best to live my life by: hope, love, perseverance, joy, gratitude, and compassion. These words have been guideposts that have surely gotten me where I am today - continuing to work hard and chase my aspirations! I am working towards my Masters and PhD in Industrial Organizational Psychology at the University of Akron and began an internship at the Cleveland Clinic this past fall working in the Mandel Global Leadership and Learning Institute (very full circle to be working at a healthcare organization as well!). Being a cancer survivor has undoubtedly changed my life, but I believe being a patient of St. Jude has changed it even more, and for the better. This year I will be running for my 10th year, but I have witnessed the magic and generosity of the St. Jude Run through my parents for 25 years. This community of runners are incredible and I am so excited to celebrate 40 years of the LaSalle-Peru run with our awesome team (yes - lots of anniversaries this year!!). I hope you will consider donating to my page to continue the lifesaving mission of St. Jude and grant families the blessing of a healthy child they can watch grow up - just like me :) Thank you!