St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude is unlike any other pediatric treatment and research facility anywhere. Discoveries made here have completely changed how the world treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

We are where some of today's most gifted researchers are able to do more science, more quickly. Where doctors across the world send their toughest cases and most vulnerable patients. Where no one pays for treatment beyond what is covered by insurance, and those without insurance are never asked to pay. We've built America's 3rd-largest health-care charity, with a model that keeps the costs down and the funds flowing, so the science never stops.

All patients accepted for treatment at St. Jude are treated without regard to the family's ability to pay.

Check out their website for more information: www.stjude.org

Tristan's Story:
Tristan, is an inquisitive boy who loves anything to do with Little Einstein™ and trucks, cars and boats. In short, he's a typical little boy. A visit to the doctor in December 2006 showed Tristan had low iron counts, so his parents, Kristen and Ron, began monitoring his diet, making sure he had plenty of iron-rich food. They were sure that by the time they revisited the doctor in early March, Tristan’s iron counts would be normal. Instead, the family was shocked to find his counts had dropped. After months of carefully monitoring Tristan’s food intake, Kristen wondered what could be wrong.

Around this time, Tristan developed a fever and had become pale; tests revealed low platelet and white blood counts. The doctor’s news confirmed the family's instinct that something was terribly wrong: Tristan, he believed, suffered from leukemia.

“You don't know what to think,” Kristen recalled. “You think you have plans until something like this happens, then you realize nothing else is important.” When doctors referred the family to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, they were already familiar with the hospital and knew it was where Tristan needed to be.

At St. Jude Hospital:
Doctors confirmed the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common form of childhood cancer. Tristan received six weeks of chemotherapy, but tests showed the little boy was still fighting the cancer. Doctors determined he needed a bone marrow transplant. Though his hospitalization was long, the transplant was successful. Currently outpatient, Tristan and his family will remain in Memphis for another three to four months so he can be closely monitored. If he is doing well after this point, he’ll return home and visit St. Jude every month for checkups.

For Kristen, St. Jude is a blessing. “You can’t completely understand St. Jude until you've walked the halls and realized this disease affects so many families,” she said. “The biggest relief is knowing Tristan is being taken care of.” Of the donors who help make so many things possible – treatment and care, housing and transportation – Kristen said, “I’d love to go and meet everyone of them at their homes to thank them personally for making this possible.”