For anyone who is not familiar with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, it was founded in 1962 by Danny Thomas. This pediatric hospital treats children with cancer related illnesses regardless of their ability to pay.

I first came into contact with St. Jude 10 years ago this August when my younger sister was diagnosed with AML. AML stands for Acute Myeloid Leukemia, which affects your white blood cells.

Julia was first admitted to Blair E. Batson Hospital in Jackson before they suggested my parents move her to St. Jude.

When my family arrived at St. Jude, my parents were astounded at how the hospital operated on a daily basis. I, being five, thought everything was really cool. The hospital was big and colorful, with activities, playrooms and a huge cafeteria.

Since I was five years old when Julia was diagnosed, I moved up to Memphis with her during her treatment. Honestly, I didn’t realize how sick she was until a couple of years after her remission, when it became normal at our house to talk about how serious of an illness she had.

I guess parents could try to explain to a five-year-old that their sibling is really sick and has an extremely harmful illness but she would probably look at them and smile because she just had no idea. But, as a five-year-old, I had a blast in Memphis. I had a ton of friends back home, and I missed them, but St. Jude and the Target House (where we lived for six months) worked long hours to make my family as comfortable as we could be along with all the other families at St. Jude.

The staff at the hospital always had activities for patients and their families to participate in every night. St. Jude had great nurses and doctors who always had a smile on their faces and a great attitude towards these sick children, even if they weren’t having the best day.

Although, I have not been to hospital in the last four years for Julia’s checkup, our family is celebrating her 10 years in remission at her checkup in December by all participating in the Marathon weekend. I am running the 5K.

On Sunday, Aug. 23, at 6:30 p.m., the Castle Restaurant will be hosting the 10th annual St. Jude Benefit dinner. This will be Julia and my first time to attend the dinner and we can’t wait.

Natchez has always been a very special place to my family. We love to visit as often as possible. Your kind hearts make our trips to Natchez even more special. May God bless you all.

 

Maggie Eidt is a Jackson resident and is the daughter of Wray and Jennifer Eidt.