What do you do when St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital emails you and invites you for a blog tour? You read the email about 5 times making sure they got the right person, you call your husband hysterically and then you say yes. See, I’ve been familiar with St. Jude and it’s mission so this was not only exciting because it was a trip but because it was a trip that would have so much meaning and emotion that it makes it worth it. I had so much anxiety after saying yes. I was scared of leaving my children for 3 days, I was afraid of how emotional I was going to be in that environment, I was just a mess.
And when I arrived and saw Angela, one of the coordinators from our trip I couldn’t help but feel comforted and right at home. When we arrived at the hospital the first thing that catches your eye is the big St. Jude statue (just as a side note: St. Jude is not a religious hospital- but it’s founder, Danny Thomas was Catholic). The campus is beautifully manicured and it just feels like a peaceful, happy place.
Before I get into the details of our tour I want to give you some facts about St. Jude and their mission:
-Families never pay for any service at St. Jude. They’re hospital stay, housing, transportation and food are all paid for by St. Jude. Families are never billed or asked for money. The purpose for this is because families’ only focus should be helping their child stay alive.
-St. Jude is a research hospital and they are very open about their breakthroughs and share them with the medical community in order to save more children who might not be able to get treatment at St. Jude.
-One of the biggest accomplishments of St. Jude is that their treatments and research has helped increase the survival rate of children with cancer from 20% to more than 80% since 1962, when it opened. Their mission is to keep going until no child dies from cancer.
-St. Jude has been able to focus on what they deemed the most important in the quest for cancer cures because the funding comes from individual contributors, so the mission to save kids can keep going no matter what the financial situation is.
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Now that you know more about St. Jude and their mission let me go through a quick run down of our trip:
DAY 1:
-We had lunch at the Kay Kafe. Kay Kafe is the only cafeteria in the hospital. The idea is that everyone should eat at the same place and interact like one community. Doctors, nurses, patients, guests, everyone is welcomed and are able to enjoy a huge variety of foods. They have everything from sushi to pizza, to rice and chicken. This is no ordinary cafeteria. Patients also have an option of getting meals catered to their special needs.
-We took a tour of the hospital. Our tour guide was Tayde. She has received treatment at St. Jude 3 times since she was a child, survived and now works for the hospital as a way to give back. She showed us all the different clinics as well as the school. I will dive more into the details about the physical tour of the hospital but the one thing I will let you know now is that there is no one bare wall in the whole hospital. All walls have something, art, paintings, boards.
-Lab tour. I have to say I’m still speechless of my time at the lab. We learned soooo much and it’s incredibly uplifting to see the things that are happening in the research department.
DAY 2:
-We toured the Target Houses. Target Houses are the long term housing for families that are in treatment for a longer period of time. They have 2 buildings with over 50- 2 bedroom apartments. Each apartment is equipt with everything the family might need. The buildings are absolutely stunning. From head to toe, the attention to detail is spectacular.
-Meetings. We met the nutritionist from the hospital, the Child Life Specialist, the Chef and we also met with a mom and her daughter Emma who is a patient at St. Jude. This was one of the most emotional, special moments during the whole tour, because it really showed us the side of St. Jude people don’t get to see.
-Carnival Event. We had the chance to take a peek into an event going on at the hospital. Carnival cruises was having a celebration for the kids and it was Dr. Seuss themed. They had music, food, activities for the kids. It was just a really cool time.
-Bass Pro Shop time. This is the biggest Bass Pro Shop in the whole country. I enjoyed going up to The Lookout because it gave one of the most beautiful views of St. Jude and downtown Memphis.
DAY 3:
-Brainstorming sessions. We went over the tour and what we enjoyed the most and try to come up with ideas to bring that message to you.
-National Civil Rights Museum. This was such an emotional trip, and to end it here took it to another level. I can’t even begin to tell you the impact this visit had on my heart and my life. It was without a doubt and special moment.
As you can see we did a lot. I will be writing a lot more about St. Jude and my time there. This place really has my heart. Everything they do for children and their families is beyond what any other institution does. They are truly angels for so many children. Thank you to St. Jude for hosting us and showing us closer look to who you are and what you stand for. So to put it all together, St. Jude will forever have my heart because anyone that does what they do for children deserve all the love and respect in the world.
