Jeffrey Watt

Why I Support St. Jude

In January of 2018, our daughter, Avery was a happy, progressing 9 month old when she started to have severe balance issues and regressed to the point where she could not sit up anymore.  After an MRI, we heard the words no parent ever wants to hear.  They had discovered a golf ball size tumor in her brain and it was later confirmed to be cancerous.  Unfortunately the bad news kept coming as we later learned her cancer was called Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT).  ATRT has a very low survival rate and we were told we could have less than 90 days with our baby.  Our local hospital had only ever seen a handful of ATRT cases, we knew we needed Experts in ATRT to review her case.

St Jude Children’s Hospital was the obvious choice!  After reaching out to them, we found out they had better options available, so we headed straight there for Chemotherapy, Proton Radiation and a very supportive team of experts!  It was an arduous road traveled, but St. Jude Children’s Hospital was there for us every step of the way.  Thanks to them we got over 4 more quality years with her.  They will always have a special place in our hearts.

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

When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was considered incurable. Since then, treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent.

And because St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes, every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.

Thank you for supporting me and the lifesaving work happening at St. Jude today. Let’s cure childhood cancer. Together.