Kayla Schoen

Hi – my name is Kayla Schoen and I have two wonderful boys, Houston & Hudson and an incredible Husband, Walter. Our younger son Hudson was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma in July of 2021. He was two years old. 

After our local hospital found his cancer the next day we were transported to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In the blink of an eye we had to pick up our lives and move from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Memphis, Tennessee. Once we arrived and met his team of doctors we found out that his treatment would take anywhere from 12 – 18 months. Hudson ended up doing 13 months of treatment including chemotherapy, two stem cell transplants and radiation before officially being  deemed “Cancer Free”. We finally got to move back home and unfortunately 6 weeks later, he fell and had a massive seizure. He was rushed to the hospital and several scans later we found out that he had relapsed in the brain. Only a few weeks later he underwent a triple craniotomy to remove the tumors and it was successful. He had to continue on for another year of treatment; chemotherapy and radiation again. 

But since May of 2023 Hudson has been cancer free! We can’t say enough good things about St. Jude. They not only saved our son but provided for us in ways that we didn’t even know we needed. They gave us an apartment down the street from the hospital. They gave us gas and food cards. It’s true what you hear…we never received a single bill for Hudson’s care. I can’t imagine how much everything would have cost. We never had to bat an eye at a doctor saying he needed an MRI or a new medicine or wait for insurance to approve it. St. Jude took care of everything. We are so thankful for every single non profit, company and individual that decides to partner with St. Jude. As a family that was on the receiving end…we cannot thank you all enough.