Elliot Rose is a kind and gentle soul who is currently battling a highly aggressive and fast-growing form of brain cancer known as DIPG. She has a quiet personality for an 8-year-old but can get a bit rowdy once she feels comfortable around you! She enjoys laughing and making others laugh with her contagious giggle and jokes. Elliot Rose is such a well-behaved child, never questioning what she is told, always an excellent listener, and amazing at following directions. She is incredibly bright and such a quick learner. She loves her family so much and cannot wait to meet her baby brother when he makes his entrance into this world in April 2021.

Prior to her diagnosis, she was an artist and engineer. She taught her little sister, Peyton, to turn trash into treasures. They would steal the toilet paper and paper towel tubes, along with cardboard boxes to build rollercoasters, pets, and towers. Anything that went in the garbage and was made of cardboard was fair game for Elliot Rose to recreate into anything she could imagine.

One month before being diagnosed with DIPG, Elliot Rose failed a hearing test on her left ear during a yearly physical, but her pediatrician thought the machine was dying and brushed it off. Once they returned home from the test, Elliot Rose's parents began noticing that she was talking louder, turning the volume up on the TV, and complaining of headaches while pointing to her left ear.

On October 6, 2020, Elliot Rose’s left eye was fixed to the center and unable to track to the left. Her parents immediately took her to the emergency room, where a CT scan and MRI were performed very late that night. The following day, doctors informed her family that they’d found a tumor. A week later, Elliot Rose was diagnosed with DIPG after a biopsy.

Diagnosis has been a nightmare for Elliot Rose and her family. It has left them stressed, exhausted, and sad. Her parents try their best to make the most of each day while caring for a sick child. For Elliot Rose, learning about DIPG was upsetting and disappointing, however, with her sunny nature, she refuses to let DIPG get the best of her and change her outlook on life.

She has lost much of her mobility since her diagnosis and is subsequently unable to do virtually all of her favorite activities. She can no longer draw, write, dance, or build Legos on her own. The only thing she can comfortable do on her own is play on her touchscreen computer. She's able to drag her fingers and press the arrow keys; the game gives her so much happiness and a sense of normalcy.

Before DIPG and steroids, Elliot Rose was an avid snacker, the queen of Goldfish, Cheez-Its, Mac n' Cheese, and spaghetti. Oh, my goodness, the plates of spaghetti she could down at dinner. Since beginning steroids, she’s been given the nickname Elliot Ramsey because of her love for eating and tasting new things. She enjoys telling you what she thinks of your kitchen skills, especially when it comes to milkshakes!

Elliot Rose is five months post-diagnosis and is so strong. Her whole life, she has been applauded for her positive attitude and outlook on life, and she will not let DIPG steal that from her. She is a brave warrior who continues pressing on each day with a smile despite a mountain of obstacles.

Funding for childhood brain cancer research means hope for Elliot Rose and her family. Hope that no other kids will have to suffer through the torture of being uncomfortable due to DIPG. Hope that no one else will know what Ellie feels every day when she wakes up trapped in her own body, unable to do what she knows she used to be capable of.

Children deserve so much more than the ineffective treatment options that are currently being offered for DIPG. We need answers as to why this is happening! We need to stop sweeping these hard to talk about and think about topics under a rug because we are worried about who may feel uncomfortable hearing about what these kids go through. Our children deserve so much more than such a painful, life-altering diagnosis. They deserve a cure!

1 in 330 children in the U.S. will develop cancer by age 20.

On average, 15,500 children are diagnosed with cancer each year.

Cancer is the #1 killer of children by disease in the United States, yet it remains one of the most underfunded diseases in the world.

The Cure Starts Now focuses on the Homerun Cure™ for all cancers by concentrating our research funding efforts on the deadliest forms of cancer. With over $15 million in pediatric brain cancer research funding to date, you can rest assured that 100% of your donation, after credit card processing, will go directly to innovative research. Please join us in funding crucial research to save our youngest warriors.