On Feb. 4, 1962, Danny Thomas, the founder of St. Jude Children's Research hospital in Memphis, Tenn., opened its doors to all children around the world. Little did he know what his idea would soon become. Now, the top children's hospital in the world, it has up to almost 8,000 patients at a time. On Nov. 5, I had a wonderful opportunity along with seven of my other sorority sisters to take a weekend trip to Memphis and visit St. Jude. Being a member of Tri Delta, our philanthropy is St. Jude -- however, I never knew how life changing this hospital truly is.
I can tell you any fact you want to know about the history and logistics of St Jude. Each day it costs approximately $2 million a day to run the hospital, and not a single patient or their family pays for their treatment, medicine, food, travel costs, or living expenses while at St Jude. They have brought the childhood cancer survival rate from four percent to 80 percent, and are reaching for 90 percent.
In 1999, Tri Delta partnered with St. Jude and has been with them ever since. Tri Delta has set many goals for St. Jude fundraising, and blown all of them out of the water. Tri Delta, as a whole, has made the single biggest commitment, ever, to St. Jude for raising $60 million in 10 years, in order to name Tri Delta Place, the short term living housing on the St. Jude campus. All these facts were just simply facts, but after attending St. Jude and experiencing the St. Jude culture, it is something that will forever change my life.
Not only did I get to see St. Jude in person, I learned everything that goes on, on a daily basis, at the hospital. St. Jude has a fully accredited school with eight teachers for the students to help them keep up with school. These teachers talk to all the patients' teachers back home so the kids are doing the same work that their class is doing back home.
They grow their own vegetables, so no pesticides are used. When a kid receives treatment and is only craving one specific thing, any worker at St. Jude will go anywhere and make them anything. The MRI machines are shaped like rocket ships, and for the little kids they demonstrate the procedure on a teddy bear. They decorate the isolation rooms with their favorite characters. Once a child completes their chemo treatments they get to throw a "No Mo' Chemo" party for their family and doctors to attend. And most importantly, the kids can pick the themes for the rooms in the hospital when a new room develops, because this hospital is truly their hospital and home.
All of these wonderful things make St. Jude such an amazing hospital, but it wasn't until I was physically there in the hospital that it hit me that I am truly changing these kids lives. I had the opportunity to work in the donation warehouse for a couple of hours, and the amount of donations they receive every day is inspiring -- ranging from coloring books, soccer balls, to pajamas and blankets -- all of which are used to make these kids experience at St. Jude as normal as they possibly can. They have a simple thing called the “happy cart” that a volunteer walks around the hospital with, that is full of toys and is just a simple way for the workers and people at St. Jude to spread a happy atmosphere.
After working for a couple of hours, I had the opportunity to interact with some of the patients. Sitting and playing with baby Kruze, a one year old boy fighting a form of leukemia, my heartstrings were pulled. I thought about my daily life, when I am tired and complaining of a headache. Kruze had just completed chemo two days in a row and was on his way for his third round when I got to meet him. It really put into perspective how blessed I am to be happy and healthy. After spending time playing with Kruz, feeding him a little snack and giving him a brand new toy, I got the opportunity to go to Target House, the longterm living facility.
When you pull through the gate at the Target House you would think you were in Beverly Hills, in a mansion. There is a huge elephant fountain outside, and the whole building is gorgeous. It gets even better when you enter the building. Every single room has been donated by someone famous who has decorated the room the way they like. The Brad Paisley room has a pool table and a country feel to it, the Dreamworks room is every kid's playroom dream, and the music room from Natalie Grant has a real Grammy. All of these wonderful rooms show how much everyone truly cares about St. Jude and all the patients and families. While at St. Jude I spent time with Andrew Frayer, a 10 year old who has been battling cancer most of his life. Andrew told me all about his life at the Target House and how much he loves the computers, playing pool and foosball. I decided to try and play a game of foosball with him, but I lost quickly because his tactical foosball skills were something I did not have, whatsoever.
One part of the trip that stood out to me the most was The Day of Remembrance Ceremony. This was probably the saddest part of the trip, but also the most touching and inspiring. Not knowing much, I assumed that if a child lost their battle at St. Jude then most families would probably not want to come back but, oh, I was so wrong. While at the ceremony, I walked into the pavilion and was amazed at how many families came to support St. Jude and talk to their child’s doctors and nurses again. The room was filled with dozens of boards filled with pictures and memories of many kids who had lost their life to cancer. Every single one of the families was there and was willing to share their stories. It was amazing to see how the doctors remembered every single one of their patients, and their families. It was so touching to see how they reacted when seeing each other, some happy with hugs and laughs, and some overcome by emotion and just simply needed a hug and reassurance.
I cannot thank Tri Delta enough for pairing with St.Jude back in 1999 because if they hadn't I probably wouldn't be where I am today. I am truly inspired to be a part of such an amazing organization that changes so many lives each and every day.
