Courageous like Christiana

Two years ago, in August 2024, our 2½-year-old daughter, Christiana, suddenly stopped walking and began complaining of unbearable pain. After several ER visits, an MRI finally revealed the culprit: a glioma in her spinal cord, taking up the full width of the spinal column and intertwined with the nerves controlling her legs, feet, bowel, and bladder. 

Surgery was able to remove some—but not all—of the tumor. Just four months later, it had grown back to its full size, bringing with it the same pain and discomfort. We were left with very limited treatment options, most of which had mixed results at best for her type of tumor. 

Then we learned of a clinical trial at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for an oral chemotherapy designed to specifically target her tumor type. We hoped it could be the answer to our prayers. 

Within hours, the doctor leading the trial called and spent more than an hour talking with me about Christiana’s options. One week later, we were landing in Memphis to begin treatment. 

Immediately, our eyes were opened to the magic that is St. Jude: the care shown to patients; the community of families; the warmth and compassion of the staff and medical teams; and the lifesaving research.St. Jude took care of our every need. 

They booked and paid for our flights, coordinated our appointments, provided housing, meals, and other needs for our whole family. 

St.Jude understands the toll treatment can take on an entire family. They provide schooling, therapy and counseling services, caregiver support, and on-campus housing where families can stay for days, months, or even years.All without ever sending us a single bill. 

In the halls of St. Jude, we have witnessed heartbreak and unimaginable pain. We have experienced deep loss, including the loss of a few of our dear heroic friends who are now angels—showing themselves to us in the sunsets and the butterflies. And in these same halls we have also seen joy, relief, faith, and hope.

Christiana has now been in treatment for a year and a half, with about five months to go. She takes oral chemo twice a day, every day, at home—and her tumor has shrunk by more than 70%.God willing, she will take her final dose in late January 2027. Then, she will continue returning to St. Jude for regular monitoring and follow-up care. 

We are so proud of our warrior. She has been through so much: two spinal cord surgeries, 7 fractures, around 10 sets of AFO braces, 15 MRIs, and 100+ physical therapy sessions.Despite everything she has had to navigate, she is brilliant, sweet, and hilarious. She loves so deeply and teaches us so much through the way she lives her life. She thinks of St. Jude not as a scary hospital, but as a second home—a testament to the way everyone there has made her feel. 

Anyone who experiences St. Jude leaves with the same feeling: wishing more than anything that St. Jude didn’t need to exist, while thanking God that it does. 

Will you join us in supporting St Jude this September during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month?

You can either do so by walking alongside us in Tampa (or wherever you may be on September 26th) or donating. 

Your support directly funds treatment and lifesaving research, it enables cures, and it offers a beacon of hope to warrior kiddos and their families everywhere.