Rachel Ciraldo

This summer marks 15 years! That is so hard to believe because the shock and fear we felt in June of 2011 when we heard that our son had liver cancer still feels like just yesterday. We can never go back to the way it felt for us before that day, so we celebrate his miraculous survivorship now. And we know that we would not be able to do so without the absolutely amazing care and support that we received at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

For all of the previous donors reading this now, THANK YOU. For all people considering donating to St. Jude for the first time, THANK YOU, TOO!  It is because of individual donors that our family has never had to pay even a penny for the care we have received for 15 years.  

This year, my goal is $5,000 so that we continue to receive the same excellent and holistic care from St. Jude for years to come.

What does Luca's care even look like now? Luca finally transitioned to the After Completion of Treatment Clinic, know as the ACT Clinic, in 2025, and 2026 was his first full round of appointments - which all together took 3 days. He is enrolled in the St. Jude Life Study which is open to pediatric cancer survivors beyond just St. Jude patients. They test absolutely everything, from his breathing and fitness to his eyes, ear, and even smell! All the while, we stayed in the new Dominoes Village which is so beautiful, comfortable, and convenient. The best part of it all was hearing Luca's questions for literally all the nurses and doctors. His curiosity of medicine has been motivating him a lot lately.

What does Luca's life look like these days?  I'll start by just saying how incredibly proud we are of our 17 year old son. He has many accomplishments this year: Luca conquered 10th grade with all A's, reached Star ranking in Scouts, placed first in the state for his level at the MMTA Piano Solo Competition, has his driver's license now, shadowed several doctors including his favorite nephrologist and a surgeon, served on an advocacy team impacting the passage of the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act, lobbied in Washington DC, served as a Counselor at Camp DreamStreet, and spent four weeks in Israel learning, exploring, and doing service projects.

By donating to my fundraising efforts, you are helping to make that kind of reality possible for our family and for other families like ours.

THANK YOU!