Sadie, age 14, was beginning high school as a 9th grade Honors student in October of 2022. An extrovert and talented arts kid, Sadie volunteered at a local library and was rehearsing for a play at a local theatre. 

An eye exam lead to an ER visit and an MRI confirming a brain tumor. Sadie was immediately taken to a hospital in New Orleans, underwent 5 brain surgeries and spent 40 days and nights in the PICU. In November 2022, Sadie was initially given a diagnosis of Pineoblastoma — which would later be revised to Medulloblastoma in the Pineal Region. 

In December 2022, the Eirich family had Sadie's care transferred to St. Jude, where Sadie rehabilitated from surgical complications and began chemotherapy treatment on Christmas Eve. They spent nine months in treatments at St. Jude — 30 rounds of proton radiation and 6 cycles of chemo — through September 2023. 

Sadie relearned everything from walking to swallowing, eating and speaking in the first months of 2023, and worked to regain and process memories. Sadie amazed everyone with resilience, positivity and strength through a year long battle away from home, during which many of the “firsts” that should've come along with starting high school were lost. 

Sadie is unique not only because of an extremely rare diagnosis, (1 of 7 documented cases of Medulloblastoma in the Pineal Region), but because of intelligence, compassion and empathy for all peoples and ability to persevere and create art through loss.

One of Sadie's goals is to ensure other kids and teens with illnesses and differences are included. Everyone in the clinic lights up when they see Sadie in the halls. The Eirich family never could have imagined how special Sadie would be to so many people. 

On September 14, 2023 Sadie received NED on scans following treatments! The Eirich family came home to Louisiana and Sadie is now off-treatment. They return to St. Jude for scans and follow-ups every three months. 

Thank you for choosing to donate to The Cure Starts Now Foundation. 100% of this donation, after credit card processing fees, goes directly towards research to find the homerun cure for cancer starting with pediatric brain cancer research.

If you would like to make a donation by mail please send a check to:  The Cure Starts Now Foundation; 10280 Chester Road; Cincinnati, OH 45215 and put the child's name in the memo.

The family receives notification of all donations made to this tribute fund automatically.