“When my baby was 5 years old, she woke up in the middle of the night crying in pain — and Ellee’s not my crier. Nothing took the pain away. When she looked at me and said, ‘Mommy, please help me,’ I knew something was seriously wrong,” remembered Ellee’s mom, Shauna.
Before she was a patient at St. Jude, Ellee fundraised for the hospital during a St. Jude Trike-A-Thon.
Ellee had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer — but hers was high-risk and harder to treat.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has increased the survival rates for ALL from 4% before opening in 1962 to 94% today.
Ellee is a smart and determined little girl.
“We haven’t hid her cancer diagnosis from her. I really didn’t have the chance. As soon as we walked through the doors of St. Jude, she recognized the logo. She said, ‘You’ve taken me to the hospital where kids have cancer. Mommy, do I have cancer?’”
While receiving chemotherapy at St. Jude, Ellee enjoyed visiting the St. Jude mailroom to see if she had any cards from home — and she always did. It was a great way for her to pass the time between appointments and practice her reading.
Ellee with her brother, Hudson, and mom, Shauna
I’m in the best place in the world for my child.
During her treatment at St. Jude, Ellee retained her spunk and liked practicing magic tricks, even pulling a bunny out of a hat for her nurses.
“We can never repay St. Jude for what they have done for our child,” Shauna said.
Meet more patients
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Meet Alejandro
Ines and Alejandro think of their son Alejandro every day. Their active and curious boy would have been near adulthood by now. They honor his memory through their commitment to St. Jude. Read more here.
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Meet Camila
Camila was diagnosed three days before her 3rd birthday with a solid cancerous tumor of the kidney. Read her story.
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Meet Avery
Avery was diagnosed with sickle cell disease soon after birth and she received a bone marrow transplant at St. Jude in early 2023. Her donor was one of her older sisters.
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Meet Misheel
Misheel was diagnosed with brain cancer and was referred to St. Jude, where she has received treatment, which included chemotherapy and radiation therapy. She has refused to let her illness keep her from spreading joy to others.
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Meet Janelle
When Janelle was just over a year old, her family noticed that she began to regress in her development. Medical tests revealed that Janelle had cancer.
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Meet Yazleemar
Yazleemar is an outgoing and expressive teenager. In 2012, Yazleemar was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer. St. Jude offered more than treatment to her and her family.
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Meet Gideon
After Gideon was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma, he was referred to St. Jude for immediate treatment.
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Meet Felicity
With a diagnosis of 5 tumors in her brain and spine, Felicity is facing a struggle, but you wouldn't know it by the constant smile on her face.
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Meet Charlie
Diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in his shoulder, Charlie was referred to St. Jude then underwent chemotherapy and surgery to replace a cancerous bone with titanium.
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Meet Ava
At 6 years old, Ava had a lump on her neck and tests showed she had more lumps in her belly. Tests revealed that she had a cancerous tumor and was referred to St. Jude.
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Meet Kamryn
At 2 years old, Kamryn's bloodwork indicated he had a form of blood cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Doctors referred him to St. Jude where he would undergo more than 2 years of chemotherapy while growing to love activities like Music Therapy.
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Meet Luxe
As a kindergartener, Luxe’s legs became so covered in bruises that her parents took her to the doctor. Luxe was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia.
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Meet Eliza
Eliza’s pediatrician referred her to an ophthalmologist after testing her eyes. In turn, she was referred to St. Jude as a tumor was visible in her right eye.
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Meet Rinoa
Rinoa had an MRI due to headaches and, later, double vision. Doctors found a cancerous brain tumor called medulloblastoma and was soon referred to St. Jude.
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Meet Adalyn
Adalyn had stomachaches that came and went with episodes of severe pain. At the ER, doctors found a large mass above her kidney, stage-4 high-risk neuroblastoma.