St.Jude
Four years ago, my best friend David was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer. The Sarcoma in his abdomen grew much faster than typical cancer, and David was given a low chance of survival. Because his cancer was so rare, the only procedures for its cure were only experimental, giving him few options. Despite this horrible burden, David held strong, and always had faith that things would turn out for the best.

His chipper attitude was astonishing in light of his circumstances, but what truly blew us away was that he had been welcomed into the St.Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where he was treated and cared for by the leading specialists in the world. Not only would David get the best care he could ever receive, but he’d get it all for free. Thousands of dollars worth of surgeries were completely covered by St.Jude thanks to its generous donors. The difficulty of having a child’s life threatened by cancer is enough for a parent. They should never have to worry about the debt those surgeries would put them in. Thanks to St.Jude, David’s parents didn’t have to pay a dime. Then, after over a year of treatment, David was declared cancer free. A successful surgery, the doctors at St.Jude removed a fifteen-pound tumor out of David’s abdomen. It was the size of a basketball. Not long after his surgery, I visited him at St.Jude up in Memphis where we gladly thought of the good times to come.

Sadly, a short while after he was declared cancer-free, another tumor began to develop, and David was again being treated for his newly returned disease. Make-a-Wish came to his bedside and asked him what he wanted most in the world. He could have done whatever he wanted. He chose to take his family, and mine to Orlando to spend a week park hopping. We spent the week in the animal kingdom lodge and gladly rode every single rollercoaster that the city had to offer. David’s strength had faded a little, but we wouldn’t let that slow him down. His father and I gladly pushed him in a wheelchair to each attraction.

A few short months after that picture was taken, David died. The heartbreak inflicted on David’s family, as well as my own was devastating. The shocking thing about it is that many of David’s nurses and caretakers came to his funeral to mourn his loss with us. The loving staff at St.Jude wasn’t just a group of nurses and orderlies. They became our family. The service that St.Jude has provided for David’s family is one that I will never forget and can never repay. If it weren’t for the donors who fund St.Jude, David would not have had the family that he found at St.Jude. These donors are like you. Men and women who see a need and can’t not help. You can help save a child’s life with a donation to St.Jude. You can be a hero.