Hixson, Tennessee-based childhood cancer nonprofit Emily’s Power for a Cure awarded a $100,000 grant for neuroblastoma research to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Officials said, "Jon Pat Ransom, Emily’s brother, is a medical student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine. As he finished up his first year of med school, he applied
for a research internship at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. After
interviewing, receiving and accepting the position, Jon Pat started working at St. Jude in June of
2022. On his first day of his job he learned that he would be studying a new drug to treat
neuroblastoma, the type of cancer that killed his sister in 2006. Jon Pat said he was a bit
overwhelmed because he knew, firsthand, how important this research was to so many kids
around the world. He has always hoped that he would be able to be a part of a team to find a
cure for neuroblastoma in memory of his sister.
"When his parents, Jonathon and Wendy Ransom (founders of Emily’s Power for a Cure), found
out about Jon Pat’s research internship, Wendy was brought to tears and both were so proud of
their oldest son."
“He’s wanted to be a doctor since Emily died, and I just knew this was exactly where he was
supposed to be,” Ms. Ransom said. “I also knew that Emily would be so proud.”
Emily was only two when she died, but she loved her older brothers fiercely.
Jonathon and Wendy decided they also wanted to be a part of this research and began working
toward a fundraising goal for the 2022 Pink Bandana Ball, the flagship fundraising event for
Emily’s Power for a Cure. In December 2022, the Ransoms proudly sent a check for $100,000
on behalf of Emily’s Power for a Cure to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in memory of
Emily.