I’m happy to say that I will be running the St. Jude Marathon on December 6 and raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in honor of Sarah Johnson, the daughter of Tina Marie Poolson Johnson and Rusty Johnson from the Loranger/Husser area.

Sarah is 9 years old. She was diagnosed 9/2/23 with Hypodiploid B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at 7 years old when in 2nd grade. Due to the treatment early on, she developed acute pacreatitis and spent 2 weeks in ICU and a month hospitalized. She had to have physical therapy to learn to walk again, occupational therapy to help with fine motor skills of her hands to write and get dressed, and speech therapy to help with the strength of her vocal cords.

Her treatment for the Leukemia has been greatly modified due to her sensitivity to the medications and the fact that she is Hypodiploid. Hypodiploid is a genetic defect in the Leukemia cells where they are missing chromosomes. The more chromosomes missing, the harder it is to cure. 46 is the normal number of chromosomes. Sarah's cells have around 36 to 38 chromosomes. Her treatment plan looks way different than most other children with B-Cell ALL.

Currently, she is in her Continuation Therapy phase of treatment, which consists of four 112 day cycles. She has just completed cycle 3 on July 8 and will begin cycle 4 on July 15th. The end of her treatment is scheduled to sometime in March 2026. The treatment has also caused her to become a Type 1 diabetic. She was diagnosed with that on 12/23/24 and spent Christmas Eve in the hospital.

Sarah will be going into 4th grade at Mater Dolorosa Catholic School in Independence in August.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is an incredible organization leading the charge in understanding, treating, and defeating childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. St. Jude ensures that families never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing, or food, allowing them to focus solely on what matters most: their child's healing and happiness. With childhood cancer survival rates in the U.S. improving dramatically, we must continue this vital work, especially since many children around the world still face dire outcomes.

Your support helps St. Jude make a difference by contributing towards all of their efforts!

Please join me in supporting this life-saving mission. Every donation, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to a future where no child dies from cancer.

Thank you for your generosity! #sarahstrong