Meet Gardenia – Leukemia Warrior

Without NCCS helping us... we would be lost trying to figure out how to fund our little girl's hospital trips." - Gardenia's mom

Gardenia was only five years old when she was diagnosed with leukemia. Her doctor initially first thought it was bronchitis but when she began losing weight and spiking fevers Gardenia’s mother took her to the emergency room. It was there that her family received the devastating news. After several months of treatment, doctors told Gardenia’s parents that her best hope for survival was a stem cell transplant but they were unable to find a good match. Gardenia’s doctors decided on a Haploidentical Transplant, which uses a half-matched related donor. Mimi, Gardenia’s mom, was the obvious choice and she received her transplant at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center which was 220 miles from their home. But thanks to the NCCS, Gardenia’s was able to get the treatment she needed, no matter where it was located. “Gardenia is only the second one to get this transplant here at UCSF,” said Mimi. “She is slowly making progress… We’ve had great days and not so great days and countless days where we felt helpless as parents. No parent wants to see their child hurt. Without NCCS helping us for over a year we would be lost trying to figure out how to fund our little girl’s hospital trips. It’s been a blessing to have them take this journey with us. Thank you for always helping us through the darkest of storms.”