Christian NesSmith’s Story

What do you think about when you hear St. Jude? Do you think about children? It's probably the big "C" word, right? Well, when I hear someone say St. Jude, the only word that comes to my mind is miracles (then closely followed by the goose bumps).

I learned all about St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the amazing work done for all of the "little angels" around 7 years ago. I immediately started researching the hospital simply because I wanted to know as much as I could about this incredible place. I started to keep up with patients and their families, and let me tell you, the road wasn't easy.

My senior year of high school, I learned about a little girl named Christian NesSmith. Little Christian was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in January of 2008. Christian received good news in September of 2008 when all of her tests came back clear, but sadly in May of 2009, Christian's cancer came back.

Christian's mom, Christiana, kept a daily blog that allowed others to follow Christian's journey with the "c" word. I followed the blog every afternoon in my last class period. I never had the pleasure of meeting Christian, but through her mother's writing, I felt like I was almost there with her.

Christian had her good days and her bad days but kept strong. It wasn't long before I received the news that Christian's illness was terminal and I immediately felt like a part of me was breaking.

I continued to follow Christina's blog and noticed that things were starting to get really tough for Christian and I started to get scared. And then the day came...October 1, 2009 I received a phone call telling me that Christian had passed away.

Christian was such a strong little girl who had a brilliant and lively imagination and a beautiful heart. In Christina's blog, she wrote that in Christian's last days, she comforted her mother as well as the rest of her family. Christian was never afraid. She knew that she would soon be with her Father in heaven and that meant that she already won her battle.

Christina kept up with her blog up until February of 2011, writing about life after Christian's passing. If you have just a few minutes, visit the webpage and read some of the stories.

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