A 3-year-old cancer survivor is giving back to the hospital that put her on the road to recovery — St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Madison Hussein participated in the Lemonade Stand Challenge last weekend and raised over $2,500. It’s money that will go directly to St. Jude, whose mission is to find cures and save the lives of children living with cancer.
“Thank you! We appreciate you all for your time, love, prayers, and support,” Madison’s parents Andrea and Jason Hussein said in a Facebook post. “Madison’s goal is to help her friends at St. Jude feel better, and we couldn’t be more on board to help make that happen. A BIG THANK YOU to all for supporting Madison’s lemonade stand challenge for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Madison’s cancer battle
Andrea said they discovered something was bothering the toddler the night before her third birthday in April.
“She came to us the night of her birthday and said, ‘Mommy, my belly hurts,'” Hussein said. “I told her, ‘Go to your dad, and he’ll work on your belly.’ It turns out he found a lump. We went to urgent care, and they sent us to the ER. Her birthday was Good Friday, and we thought we would have surgery on Easter Sunday.”
They ended up at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, where the tumor was removed during a seven-hour surgery. She said as of July 21, her daughter is cancer free. She is scheduled to return to St. Jude for a checkup on Aug. 2.
“We held onto our faith”
“We were devastated when we found out there was a mass, but we were both very faithful that everything was going to be okay,” Hussein said. “We held onto our faith. We are thankful she had a successful surgery. Overall, she is recovering very well. Although she’s only three, she grew up from this experience.”
For Madison and her family, giving back is personal. They want to make sure other families in their situation have St. Jude as an option.
“It’s true when (St. Jude) says they take care of everything. We didn’t have to pay for housing; they paid for all of that. We were so grateful. It’s a sad place to be because you’re dealing with cancer. But these people genuinely care about the children. I’ve never been to a place like that before. I’m forever in debt to them.”
Lemonade hasn’t been Madison’s only source of raising money. She has raised money through custom paintings. Her paintings sold out over the weekend.
If you want a painting, you can contact Andrea on Facebook. If anybody wants to donate, they can donate online.
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