Mia's dream is to be a princess when she grows up.
And like her favorite princess, Snow White, she is cheerful and friendly, always showing affection to those around her.
Mia steals the heart of everyone who meets her. She leaves her mark wherever she goes; she always leaves that love for others. She’s a treasure.
Families, like Mia's, will never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.
Mia also has an independent streak and a strength of will that has helped her face up to some very difficult challenges.
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Mia in her baptism dress
One day, after running and playing in the park, Mia had some unusual cramps in her leg.
The cause was neurological; Mia had a cancerous brain tumor called anaplastic ependymoma.
“My world came crashing down,” says her dad, Jorge. “The first thing my wife said to me was, ‘We’re going to fight.’ We would fight to the very end.”
After undergoing surgery in her home country of Nicaragua, Mia was referred to St. Jude where she received proton therapy as part of her treatment.
Mia with her sister and parents in 2019
St. Jude has given us everything. The flight from Nicaragua, our meals, housing, medicine, treatment, everything we need. We haven’t had to pay for a thing. It's a dream come true.
Mia loves to do puzzles and play with Lego and dolls, her favorite being Snow White.
And in spite of everything, her mom says that Mia has never stopped smiling.
Mia dressed for her kindergarten graduation at St. Jude in 2019
“With everything she has been through, she has never lost her joy, her enthusiasm, her will to keep going, her dreams,” says her mom. “She’s always talking about tomorrow.”
Meet more patients
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Meet Abraham
After a CT scan revealed Abraham had a mass on his brain, identified as a cancerous brain tumor called a medulloblastoma, his family turned to St. Jude for help.
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Meet Ashtyn
When Ashtyn’s family learned she had a type of cancerous brain tumor called a medulloblastoma, they turned to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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Meet Eleanor
Eleanor is a determined baby who arrived at St. Jude on her first birthday. She was diagnosed with down syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer.