Stories

It’s a Tuesday afternoon and the sound of Shania Twain’s “I Feel Like a Woman” is coming from a gym within the St. Jude Centers for Rehabilitation and Wellness. Inside, Jason Tse, occupational therapist, is helping Julia Cook Muneer master a new line dance.

When Kitty Barton needed to have her aortic heart valve replaced, she had one requirement: She needed to be able to dance her way through Aruba several weeks later—a trip she had planned with her daughter and one she considered “non-negotiable.”

Imagine being told by your doctor that you have six months left to live. Yet, here you are 14 years later, healthier than ever—that is the story of Cindy Wilman.

For Dan Mabbott, 65, St. Jude Medical Center was something he drove past on his way to see his doctor at the St. Jude Medical Plaza. “I was happy the hospital was here, I just didn’t think I’d need it,” explains the retired mechanic.

Jamie Calver was floating on cloud nine. The 55-year-old husband, father and vice president of a haircare company was heading to the airport with his wife of four years for a belated honeymoon trip to Italy when suddenly, he felt excruciating pain down the left side of his body.

Funds from St. Jude’s Emergency Response & Recovery Campaign are helping equip and expand the hospital’s Caring Neighbors Program — an initiative that assists frail and isolated seniors with services such as coordinating health appointments, grocery shopping or providing companionship.

In August 2018, Keiko Matthews, MSN, RN, completed her shift at St. Jude, went home, and woke up the next day with an excruciating headache. She asked her fiancé to call 911. The last thing she remembers is silently repeating, “Please take me to St. Jude.”