Stories of St. Jude: Bess

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (KBTX) - Bess Atkinson serves as a tour guide for St. Jude. She showed us around the sprawling campus during our visit this past January.

Bess knows a lot about the work being done at St. Jude, not because she needs to in order be an effective tour guide, but because she was once a child receiving care at St. Jude.

“We went to a hospital down there [in Baltimore] where they did a biopsy of my clavicle and found out I had a very, very kind of cancer called Myxoid Angioblastoma, which is tumors inside blood vessels inside the bone.”

At just 11 years old, Bess and her family received the devastating news of a cancer diagnosis.

Bess was one of just ten known cases in the world at the time and her family was uncertain about where to go.

“It was January of 1994, when the doctor here at St. Jude heard my story he was like ‘get her down here ASAP’. So in February of 1994, I flew down here to become a St. Jude patient,” she said.

Bess began undergoing treatment, making the trip from her home in Pennsylvania to Memphis regularly.

“My nurse became like an older sister. She was the same age as my sister... I call her my favorite nurse and she is like family to me.”

As the cancer progressed, her trips to Memphis became more frequent.

However, because of how St. Jude operates, Bess and her family never once saw a bill.

“When the ladies at the registration desk said ‘Put your insurance card away put any money that you thought you were going to bring, you don’t need it. We’re paying for everything.’”

Bess is now a happy, healthy adult, providing tours to visitors, and giving back to the same place that saved her life.

“So it’s a huge family here. It’s, once you become part of the St. Jude family, you’re always family here.”

KBTX is proud to partner with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to give one lucky family a brand new home as part of the Dream Home Giveaway.

Bryan-College Station is one of just 45 communities across the country this year to be selected for this life-changing opportunity.

The goal is to sell 7,500 tickets. Each ticket costs $100.

You can purchase your tickets here.

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