Keegan is a playful 5-year-old girl with a lot to say.
She is the funniest thing. She may seem quiet at first, but if you were to get down on the floor with her, she would carry on an entire adult conversation with you.
Her sparkling personality and ability to chat with adults may be partly because she has met more new people than many children as a patient at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Shortly before her second birthday, Keegan was waking in the middle of the night holding her leg and crying out in pain. When the pain moved to her hand and strange bruises began to show up on her body, Keegan’s mom knew something more was seriously wrong.
Their local children’s hospital called for bloodwork and the results confirmed what her mom had feared most: Keegan had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
Families, like Keegan's, will never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.
Thankfully, Keegan and her family were referred to St. Jude. Doctors immediately got to work trying to save her life.
Keegan’s family is so thankful for the generosity.
Keegan and her mother
St. Jude is a miracle in itself. When you walk down the halls of St. Jude, you see the little miracles running around, and it fills you with so much joy. St. Jude brings these kids in and makes them feel special through the worst part of their life.
Keegan and her brother
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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 Hayden
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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 Phoenix
Christmas Day plans for Phoenix’s family didn’t include a life-altering trip to the hospital. But at St. Jude, this close-knit family has been given hope.
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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 Eli
At just 6 years old, Eli was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. His family was referred to St. Jude for his treatment and Eli underwent surgery to remove the tumor and a portion of his tibia.