Fight through anything
Ella was born with a broken heart. She was immediately transferred to Doernbecher where her specialized health teams surgically pieced the two pieces of her heart back together.
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Full of life
At age 2, Eli faced a cancer almost never seen in kids that age. Fortunately, his team at Doernbecher was ready to meet the challenge.
Freestyle 2019: Sawyer
Hometown: Bend, OR Diagnosis: brain cancer Shoe: Nike Zoom Pegasus Turbo 2 Sawyer was training as a competitive gymnast when he started feeling dizzy at practice. “It kind of felt like there was a ping pong ball in my head when I did flips,” he explains. A brain scan revealed an egg-sized tumor in his […]
Freestyle 2019: Ethan
Hometown: Vancouver, WA Diagnosis: congenital heart defect, heart transplant Shoe: Air Jordan XIV Retro Good luck keeping up with Ethan Ellis. This athletic, mile-a-minute guy is passionate about basketball and dreams of playing professionally one day. You’d never know from his wicked sense of humor and upbeat attitude that he’s endured six open-heart surgeries (three […]
Freestyle 2019: Zion
Hometown: Eugene, OR Diagnosis: Hodgkin lymphoma Shoe: Air Force 1 LV8 Zion is a smart, insightful girl who loves science, reading and music. Last year, a routine sports physical revealed a lump in her neck that turned out to be lymphoma. Two days later, she began the fight of her life at Doernbecher. For her […]
Freestyle 2019: Desiree
Hometown: Hillsboro, OR Diagnosis: Type I diabetes, celiac disease and depression Shoe: Nike SB Zoom Janoski RM Desiree was just a regular fourth-grader who enjoyed writing, swimming, and theater — then a diagnosis of type I diabetes and celiac disease turned her world upside down. The news threw her into a deep depression and in […]
