| |
| Back in the Game At 7 months old, Katie |
| Griffin was enamored with playtime games. |
| But one day during a game of peek-a-boo |
| with her parents, Katie became upset when |
| her eyes were covered. Concerned, parents |
| Hope and John, who is assistant manager at |
| Chili’s in Conway, Arkansas, took Katie to her |
| pediatrician and then to a retina specialist in |
| Little Rock. Fortunately for the Griffins, this |
| doctor had attended a seminar at St. Jude |
| Children’s Research Hospital, enabling him to |
| detect Katie’s condition – retinoblastoma, |
| a very rare form of cancer that produced a |
| tumor in Katie’s left eye. |
| |
| |
With the help of the St. Jude team, the |
| Griffin family determined the best treatment |
| option was to remove Katie’s left eye. |
| Upon recovery, she was fitted with a custom |
| prosthetic eye perfectly matched to her |
| specific eye color. And thanks to the support |
| of St. Jude, Katie’s medical expenses |
| were fully covered. Now 10 months old and |
| starting to walk, Katie is part of a special |
| study at St. Jude to help isolate and block |
| the gene causing retinoblastoma in future |
| generations. Each year, Chili’s raises money |
| in support of St. Jude’s research efforts |
| and outreach programs that assist families |
| throughout the country. |
| |
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Today, John and Hope are happy to see |
| Katie chasing after older brother, Ian, |
| and once again playing her favorite games. |
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