Meet Ay'Den
He was diagnosed with blood cancer in December 2020 before traveling from Arkansas to St. Jude for treatment.
![St. Jude patient Ay'Den](/content/sites/www/en_US/home/give/dream-home/charlotte/patient-story/jcr:content/par-1/cnt_row_830033820_co_924235918/par-1/cnt_column_199671352_1184503068/par-1/cnt_image.img.16.medium.jpg/1645050211181.jpg)
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Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food—so they can focus on helping their child live.
Ay'Den was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer, in Decemeber 2020. His family feared it was COVID-19, but they never imagined he would be diagnosed with leukemia instead. Ay'Den was quickly referred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, where he began receiving chemotherapy.
A gentle kid with a ready smile – a “sweetheart,” said his mom, Sharvae – Ay’Den likes coloring, dogs and video games. Seeing her child through cancer during a pandemic was hard, but Sharvae was surprised to find out how much St. Jude does for families.
![St. Jude patient Ay'Den and his mom](/content/sites/www/en_US/home/give/dream-home/charlotte/patient-story/jcr:content/par-1/cnt_row_copy_copy_co/par-1/cnt_column_262859748/par-1/cnt_image.img.16.medium.jpg/1645050624416.jpg)
St. Jude patient Ay'Den and his mom
Ay'Den has now successfully finished cancer treatment.
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