Beth Ellwood

I’m joining the nationwide movement to honor Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and support those who need us most — the kids of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. By participating in the St. Jude Walk, I am helping to cure childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The following story is my “why”.

In 2016 my husband’s niece, Stella, was diagnosed with a rare and difficult to treat leukemia- AML-M7. It started as her looking pale and complaining about leg pain around her 4th birthday in October. By Thanksgiving, her parents gave up on the idea that this was a growth spurt. A trip to her pediatrician for blood work revealed a low blood and platelet count. They were then sent to Hershey Medical Center for further tests, including a bone marrow biopsy. Prior to the biopsy being performed her parents signed a consent form asking permission to send specimens to St. Jude. By mid-December, Hershey contacted them that the results look good, but they hadn't heard from St. Jude yet. 

Her mother, Crystal, and I took a bus trip to NYC on Dec. 15. It was such a great day. We saw the Rockettes, explored the city, and almost missed the bus to come home. We also work together as nurses in a hospital in southern Pa. The following day we both had to work, she had an earlier shift. When I came to work, she was talking with one of our doctors but had to take a phone call on her cell and went to the break room. A couple of minutes later a colleague came out and said Crystal is on the phone and is pretty upset. I immediately went to her. She was on the phone with one of the doctors at Hershey. They had heard from St. Jude, and it was not good news. Suffice it to say, we both left work that day. Over the following weeks Crystal and her husband, Dustin, spoke with both Hershey and St. Jude regarding treatment options. Hershey said they had never treated a case of AML-M7 and St. Jude had only treated 2 or 3. Their decision was pretty clear at that point.

After the decision was made to go to St. Jude, things moved pretty quickly. It still amazes me how much St. Jude helps their families. Arrangements were made for Stella, Crystal, and Dustin to fly to St. Jude in Memphis after Christmas. Unfortunately, that meant they had to leave behind their younger daughter, Nora, with Dustin's mother (affectionately called Mimi). Stella and her parents remained at St. Jude until the following July. During that time Stella received her chemo treatments, lost her hair, and moved between the Ronald McDonald house and Target House (yes, that Target), located in Memphis close to the St. Jude campus. Both organizations are amazing, and families never have to pay to stay there. 

In April of 2017, Stella received her bone marrow transplant. After which requires strict isolation in a hospital room since her immunity was at 0%. Nora was eventually able to join the rest of her family once it was safe for Stella to do so. In July, they finally made their way home. They had to make many modifications to their house for this to happen, for example a whole-house air filtration system. In situations like these you find many people and companies who want to help and who will have the means and compassion to do it without compensation. Their story was no different.

They settled back into their home and found a routine in their new kind of isolation. However, they had to plan for return trips back to St. Jude and/or Hershey for follow-up appointments. As Stella's immunity returned, she began receiving her childhood vaccinations again. However, that was stopped once she began showing signs of graft versus host disease (GVHD). This is a complication that can occur after transplant, when the donor's (graft) cells begin attacking the recipient's (host) cells. It can manifest anywhere in the host's body- lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, etc. For Stella, it was manifesting in her skin. Brown spots we all noticed and put down to freckles were appearing on her face, arms, and legs. For some patients this can also be painful because the skin tends to lose elasticity over joints. This meant she had to start a steroid and immunosuppression regimen all over again and was unable to start kindergarten in the classroom for the 2018-2019 school year. However, our county made arrangements to have a teacher come to their house 3 days/week.

Since then, Stella has completed her treatment for GVHD and has been able to go to school in the schoolhouse since the 2019-2020 school year. One thing 2020 showed, is how families of cancer patients, whether adult or child, isolation is nothing new. Unfortunately, Stella and her family have been used to "quarantining" off and on since their story began in 2016. Face masks have been part of their lives, off and on, for quite some time as well. For Stella, in particular, the lack of a classroom for school had been more of a "normal".

Stella is now 12 years old and thriving. She’s about to start her 7th grade year this fall. 

Watching this family navigate one of the hardest things any family could go through, has been amazing. Their strength, faith, and love as a family knows no bounds. St. Jude saved Stella's life, for which they never received a bill. The least I can do is help in their fundraising efforts.

Can I count on your donation to help me reach my goal?

Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – so they can focus on helping their child live. By donating to my fundraising efforts, you are helping to make that possible.

Thank you for supporting me and the lifesaving work happening at St. Jude today.