Thank you for supporting me and the more than 300,000 kids worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. By sharing the gifts of your time, talent and money with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you're supporting research to give all kids with cancer a better chance for a cure.  Hi there, I'm Ford! At just 9 months young, I was diagnosed with cancer-Ewing Sarcoma to be exact. My world was flipped upside down when a tumor was discovered and I had emergency spinal surgery. How and why did I get here? Well, to make a long story short, my parents noticed I was extremely constipated, stopped crawling, stopped eating and would lay on my stomach screaming. With weekly, and then daily visits to my pediatrician, my parents packed their bags and demanded I be admitted to the hospital. After lots of tests and imaging, a tumor was discovered on my spine, paralyzing me from the waist down. Hence all the symptoms I had. Unfortunately, the cancer was metastatic- it was also found in my lung. After a two-week recovery in the hospital and waiting for pathology results, it was determined my cancer was Ewing Sarcoma- a rare bone disease, typically found in children and adults, often ages 10-19. At my time of diagnosis, I was one of a handful of infants to be diagnosed with this cancer- making my case extremely rare. I then had my second of four surgeries to place a port-a-cath in my chest. This is how I would receive my chemo and all IV antibiotics and medicine. During this time, my parents researched and found an oncologist who specializes in Ewing Sarcoma at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital. We met, loved him and game planned my treatment schedule. Within days, I had a bone marrow biopsy, stem cell retrieval and I started chemotherapy immediately, every 10-14 days. I celebrated my first birthday with my team of nurses and doctors hooked up to IVs of poison- poison that is limited to a maximum intake due to causing cardiac arrest, among other horrific side effects. For my birthday, an exception was made for both of my parents to be with me in the room, as the world was in the thick of the pandemic, and only one parent at a time was allowed to be with me. I was separated from my big brother and sister for days and weeks at a time. We were all separated as a family during my inpatient stays. This was our normal. After a few months of chemo, I then began six weeks of daily sedated, proton therapy (radiation), in San Diego. My parents drove me every single day before the sun came up for my treatments, and when it was a chemo-week, I was admitted to Rady Children’s Hospital and would receive a double whammy of both chemo and radiation in the same day. Over the next year, I continued my bi-weekly regimen of IV chemotherapy. I’ve had about 55 blood and platelets transfusions (thank you to all blood donors who help saved my life and others!). I finally rang “the bell” October 22, 2021, signifying my end of treatment. Another year later, I hit a huge milestone, and had my port removed! Due to the aggressiveness of Ewing Sarcoma, I still have monthly lab draws to check my counts, and scans every three months for the next five years to keep a close eye on me. After five years, my scans schedule will slowly get further apart. It's been a grueling few years to the start of my life, but I live one day at a time, thankful for being in my own bed and with my family each day. And while I won’t remember the physical treatment I endured as a baby, I will always be a part of the cancer world and know that it has shaped me into the little warrior I have become and will always advocate for childhood cancer awareness!