by Bekah Ervin
news editor
(Editor’s note: Bekah is a member of Delta Delta Delta)
For the month of March, Tri Delta has posted St. Jude’s “ABC’s of Cancer” in the Leggett Living Room. The patient-made poems are on display for the entire month as the ladies of Delta Delta Delta sorority prepare for their annual TriHop event, which will occur on Sunday, April 3 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Plaza. Tickets for the all-you-can-eat pancakes are $5 and can be purchased from any Millsaps Tri Delta member.
The first two poems feature “alive” and “believe,” two words that these children have found to be important to remember during their time at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Letters C and D promote positivity during treatment.
E and F are especially colorful, and include clever doodles along with the poems written by the children of St. Jude. Letter E tells a story and F features the fevers that can occur with certain illnesses that can be treated at St. Jude.
“G is for Gods Great Gifts” is shining a light on the great things that happen at St. Jude. “H is for Heart” displays the hurt that patient Ashley (age 13) has felt, and gives some positive advice about love in her poem as well.
The letter I means “Imagine” to an eight-year-old brain tumor patient. For six-year-old Ashley, St. Jude makes her “jump for joy.”
The letter K has a lot of different meanings for this patient, including “Kisses from Mommy and Daddy.” Letter L reflects the “luck” that nine-year-old Christian has had while at St. Jude, surviving a brain tumor being one of them. A long poem written by Adovia, a nine-year-old medulloblastoma patient, represents her specific type of illness.
The letter N represents the nurses at St. Jude that “love and take care” of their many patients, according to six year old Quincy. Telling of their specific type of cancer, Genesis (age 10) used osteosarcoma to represent the letter O.
Jacob, a pineoblastoma patient, has many words to represent the letter P. Letter Q means “questions” to Alexis (age 13).
To Jaxon, a patient that is undergoing treatment for biphenotypic leukemia, R means recovery. The eight year old describes what he feels after a procedure.
The letter S stands for St. Jude, which is located in Memphis, Tennessee. The children’s hospital is known for never billing any of the families that bring their child in for treatment. The letter T represents the type of chemo that made ten year old Christian’s brain tumors “disappear.”
This 13-year-old St. Jude patient wrote about “The 5 U’s of Cancer”: Unaware, Uncommon, Unexpected, Unforeseen, and Unpredictable.
“V is for Vida (Life)” is written by six year old Grace. Katlin, age seven, writes about wishing upon a star for health for all patients.
Patient Nicholas and his family wrote an acronym for x-ray, his representation of the letter X. Fourteen year old Vivian writes about “yesterday,” and eight-year-old Caroline tells of her cancer being “zapped” when she was a patient at only five weeks old.