Valentina Strong

Before this year, childhood cancer was something we knew existed, but never imagined would become part of our own family’s story.

In January 2026, our daughter Valentina was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). In what felt like an instant, our lives changed completely. We left home and headed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, where Valentina would spend the next several months receiving treatment.

St. Jude became so much more than a hospital to our family. It became the place that cared for our baby during the scariest season of our lives. It gave us incredible doctors and nurses, lifesaving treatment, a place to stay, and the ability to focus on what mattered most, getting Valentina healthy and bringing her home.

After months of chemotherapy, countless labs, procedures, hospital stays, and more bravery than any little girl should ever have to show, Valentina finished treatment and came home cancer free.

We will never be able to fully express what St. Jude has done for our family. And because families at St. Jude never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing or food, so much of what made Valentina’s care possible was made possible by people who chose to give.

That’s why we created Valentina Strong and why we’re walking and fundraising this Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

We’re walking for Valentina. We’re walking for the little friends we met along the way. We’re walking for the families still sitting in hospital rooms praying for good news. And we’re walking for the children who will be diagnosed tomorrow, next month, and years from now.

Our goal is to raise $1,000 for St. Jude so they can continue researching better treatments and giving children like Valentina the chance to grow up.

If you feel led to donate or join our team, we would be so grateful. Every donation, no matter the amount, means something to families like ours.

Because now when we give to St. Jude, we know exactly who is on the other side of that gift. Kids just like our Valentina.