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Houstonians rally to fund free cancer care at St. Jude
Houston's holiday spirit reaches Memphis as locals rally to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This Christmas, they're ensuring kids fighting cancer get the care they need.
HOUSTON - Houstonians come out in full force to raise important funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, joining forces at the Junior League.
This is crucial, as St. Jude relies on generous donors to help fund the majority of costs at the hospital. Angela Garza is the Executive Director for South Texas region for St. Jude's ALSAC, which solely raises funds to help children battling disease.
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"No family ever receives a bill for treatment, travel, housing or food. We also are a research hospital, so all of the great work that Danny Thomas started in 1962 is carried through all over the world. We share our protocols and our research freely with institutions right here in Houston. I think the part that I get so excited about is to share that mission and to share how the work that Memphis is doing. It helps children right here in Houston, and all over the world," says Angela.
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Diana says St. Jude saved her life. She was living in Honduras when she was diagnosed with leukemia in 2014. Her family moved to Memphis for her to undergo years of treatment, including a bone marrow transplant.
"The doctor actually had to rerun the test a couple of times because they couldn't understand how I was sitting in that hospital bed alive. Given my blood work, they said I should be dead right now, and when I was diagnosed, I was actually given two weeks to live," states Diana.
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It was a tricky diagnosis that was tough to treat. "I had a . mutation of ALL and AML, the two types of leukemia and Honduras just didn't have the protocols or the medication," explains Diana.
That's when her doctor suggested St. Jude! She moved to the U.S. and began life-saving chemotherapy. Diana says while it was literally a lifesaver. It also helped her parents financially, and even more than that!
"They also provided love and you know, everyone you meet at the hospital puts so much effort in making sure that we're good and that we're okay, regardless of what we're going through. It's just a little piece of Heaven on earth," says a reflective Diana.
She is now in college and wants to work for St. Jude when she graduates. She often shares her testimony at their events and wants to help spread their powerful message to even more people.
For more information, visit St. Jude Children's website.