When Lindsey was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, her condition was so severe that doctors wanted her to take an emergency medical flight from her home in Missouri to St. Jude in Memphis. But Lindsey refused. She was only 10 years old, and she wanted to have that car ride with her family, not knowing how much time she would have left.

Thankfully, that’s not how her story ended.

And at St. Jude, Lindsey says she inherited a new family, a huge care team of people who wanted to do more than cure her cancer. They wanted to help her thrive. She says that approach allowed her to preserve the joy of childhood, even as she was fighting for her life.

More than 30 years later, Lindsey has her own family now, and she’s grateful to be part of a supportive community of friends who know firsthand what it feels like to live through childhood cancer.

Donate to St. Jude: www.stjude.org/donate

Transcript available HERE.

Credits Host: Joel Alsup
Recorded by: Andres Garcia and Nathan Black
Music production: Kazimir Boyle
Producer: Geoffrey Redick
Editor: Grace Korzekwa Evans
Executive Producer: Louis Graham

This podcast is a production of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.