Noah's Story

Noah had always been a happy and healthy child but that all changed in July 2018 when he woke up with severe leg and abdominal pain, labored breathing and intermittent fevers. His mom immediately rushed him to his pediatrician who assumed the symptoms were due to his asthma.

As his condition began worsening, Noah’s mom brought him to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. After receiving a complete blood count (CBC) test, Noah was diagnosed with high-risk B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at just three and a half years old. Noah was immediately sent to surgery to have a port placed, so he could begin receiving chemotherapy.

During this time, he lost 15% of his body weight and required a feeding tube. He went through severe neuropathy (numbness and weakness in the hands and feet) and stopped walking and sitting up. Noah was in active treatment for 830 days and East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Hematology/Oncology Clinic became his home away from home.

After countless days with his family and a team of providers and nurses that supported him every step of the way, his cancer was cured, and he was able to go home at the end of 2020. Noah ventured into life back at home with his family but eleven months later, his cancer returned. At six years old, Noah was back at Children’s Hospital receiving treatment.

Over the five years he was in treatment, Noah received over 20 blood and platelet transfusions, 34 IVIG infusions, 47 lumbar punctures and spent over 120 nights in the hospital. He spent three years receiving occupational and physical therapies and had to use leg braces, a wheelchair and a walker for a period of time while he re-learned how to walk.

Four ports, two peripherally inserted central catheters and two broviac catheters later, Noah is once again cancer free and is now a Children’s Hospital ambassador and a 2026 Children’s Miracle Network Local Champion.

You can help children like Noah get the care they need by attending East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Fantasy of Trees presented by Axle Logistics. All funds raised at the event will support the expansion and renovation of the Hogs for the Cause Hematology/Oncology Center.

With the generous $1 million donation from Hogs for the Cause and funds from Knoxville’s most beloved holiday event, this new space will provide additional room and offerings for the patients and families routinely visiting for treatment. Each month, the hospital’s hematology/oncology clinic has 45 new patient visits and over 450 appointments.

Make your own unforgettable memories and experience the magic at Fantasy of Trees from Wednesday, November 26th through Sunday, November 30th.