Mariah Ricketts and Family

Below is Mariah's story. It was written by my niece, Mariah's mother, Sarah Ricketts. Their family is relentlessly fighting since they have had to uproot their lives for the second time to temporarily move their family of six from their home in Silver Lake, Oregon to Memphis, TN. This is where St. Jude is located.

If you can contribute financially, these funds will be used for standard living expenses (travel, food, mortgage, etc.), on behalf of Mariah. If you cannot help financially, we completely understand -- but if you would -- please pray for our beloved, Mariah.

Thank you so very much!

Rita Reed

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Written September 2023:

"Our daughter, Mariah, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in December of 2020. She was 8 months old. Her specific type of brain tumor called for proton radiation therapy as part of her treatment plan. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is home to the world’s first proton therapy center solely for children and because of Mariah’s young age, we hoped we could take her there. The day we got the call Mariah had been accepted as a patient at St. Jude, we cried. We were packed and on our way to Tennessee one week later. St. Jude quickly became nothing short of a second home to us. It’s a place where miracles happen. It’s a place where every child receives the highest quality of care and compassion any parent could wish for. It’s a place where families feel camaraderie and hope as they fight for their child’s life. It’s a place where battles are won.

In July of this year Mariah relapsed. We again moved the family to Memphis to start treatment. Mariah is currently halfway through her first cycle of the SJDAWN non-protocol treatment plan. St. Jude is the ONLY hospital where Mariah can get this specific treatment, nowhere else has ever done it. Once she finishes two cycles of these two very specific chemotherapies, she will have scans to see how her cancer responds and from there we make more decisions. Without St. Jude, Mariah would not have the option for the treatment she is getting right now. "