Fight and Ride for Ella to Beat Leukemia

“Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much”
– Helen Keller

Nobody has ever met Terry or Tanya Schmidtknecht without it leaving a lasting impression, a great story, or gratitude for good friends. It makes sense then that their two daughters Cora and Ella are the distilled version of both of them. Among friends and coworkers, Terry exudes a hard-man, tatted tough guy with a mouth like a sailor. But with his 3 girls, he's nothing but gentle.

On March 6, 2021, five year old Ella was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and immediately admitted to Phoenix Children's Hospital to begin treatment. To complicate matters further, due to COVID restrictions, Ella can only see one parent at a time, and no other visitors. Ella's sidekick and big sister Cora is only able to see her via Facetime. Terry and Tanya have thrown themselves completely into supporting Ella as she is bravely starting down a long road. At the same time, Terry is trying to manage his plumbing company, and Tanya is keeping the home fires burning.

In only a few short days, Ella and her family have already had difficult conversations they never expected, such as what treatment will be like, getting a port installed, that she will lose her hair, and that she likely won't be back to school until December. Her little body is already wrestling with some of the side effects of powerful treatments, but she is as strong as Terry and Tanya, and is powering through with grit.

To put in perspective, Ella is facing 2 years of chemotherapy, constant life disruptions with appointments, treatments, and side effects, needles, bloodwork, pain, etc.

So many of us have been touched by the Schmidtknecht's generosity and kindness over the years. They make everyone feel like they are special to them. It's time to rally together as a community of friends, family, brothers and sisters and pull this heavy load with Ella and the Schmidtknechts. We all wish we could do more, but a generous donation is one of the most effective ways to lighten their load so the medical experts can give Ella the care she needs, and Terry and Tanya can keep their heads above water. Please consider doing anything you can. Let's do this with the Schmidtknechts together.