Our 5 year-old joyful, funny, ladybug-loving Emily Ruggieri and her family’s life changed forever on July 17th when she was diagnosed with DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma), a rare form of pediatric brain cancer affecting ~300 kids a year in the US and unfortunately it is currently the only childhood cancer without a cure.

Emily has been receiving treatment and radiation in Charlotte to this point under the care of St. Jude’s which has been a truly phenomenal organization. The next phase of treatment will be a bigger challenge as she prepares for a clinical trial at Seattle Children’s hospital starting this fall and going into next summer. The trial has shown some promising early results in a few patients.

We would love to support Mike, Jenny, Baker and Emily any way we can and lessen the financial burden of travel costs (flights, housing, rental car, etc) as well as potential medical bills associated with her care over the next several months.

Thank you for all of the prayers, gifts, and kind words of encouragement to all of the family. We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have and continue to receive.

Here is a link to the caring bridge site if you’d like to follow Emily’s journey

https://www.caringbridge.org/site/039c28f9-8464-11f1-99c1-b1de72e277f2?from=%2Fsearch&fname=Emily