Introducing the Emmy Fund: Financial Support for Children Battling Cancer
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Some moments will quiet a room.
At this year’s B.A.B.Y. Foundation Gala, Kati, Emmalyn Still's mother, shared one of those moments — the story of Emmalyn. A life defined by courage, resilience, and a strength beyond words.
From that story, something meaningful was created.
The Emmy Fund — a dedicated fund to support children battling cancer and the families walking alongside them.
Because cancer touches everything. And no family should have to carry that alone.
What follows are Kati’s words, shared just as they were that night.
Good Evening,
Last year, we stood up here for a very different reason than why we are standing here right now. Last year, we accepted the Wyatt Award on behalf of our daughter, Emmalyn, for her resilience, courage, and determination through 18 months of intense treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer.
In induction therapy, Emmy completed five rounds of various chemotherapy drugs, MIBG radiation therapy, stem cell harvesting, tumor removal, and ovary removal for future fertility.
Although we never imagined making the decision to remove one of our child’s ovaries so she could conceive later in life, my husband and I chose to give her the best chance at being a mother in the future. We didn’t think about cost at the time, but this was something insurance didn’t cover. That was the first time of many where the B.A.B.Y Foundation stepped in. They helped us cover the removal, shipping and annual cost of storing Emmy’s ovary in a facility out of state to give our girl a chance at being mom.
Children who have solid tumors in their abdomen and are receiving chemotherapy have zero desire to eat. Emmy received all of her nutrition through a feeding tube from a feeding pump. Insurance did not cover this. B.A.B.Y stepped in and covered all nutrition costs related to this.
Next in the treatment plan, Emmy went through consolidation therapy. She and I moved to Aurora for six months while she completed two back-to-back bone marrow transplants that contained high-dose, highly toxic chemotherapy. For her transplants, she needed an additional central line placed for more access into her body. Insurance only covered part of this surgery; B.A.B.Y. stepped in again to help cover costs.
Emmy went through some very scary challenges through her transplants, but pushed through fiercely as she always did.
Next up was 21 days of radiation to the primary tumor site. Although she needed radiation, insurance did not cover the cost of the “mapping” of where the radiation would take place on her body. Guess who stepped in? You guessed it, the B.A.B.Y. Foundation helped us cover the cost of the mapping.
The last phase in Emmalyn’s treatment was immunotherapy. Emmy completed six rounds of immunotherapy, which consisted of monoclonal antibody infusions and Accutane to have her own body attack any leftover cancer cells. To our surprise, insurance covered this.
On February 11, 2025, Emmalyn rang the bell to commence treatment and celebrate remission.
Even though treatment was completed, Emmy moved into a clinical trial for maintenance and needed to get bloodwork checked and therapeutic phlebotomies completed monthly for iron deposits in her liver, as well as multiple scans every three, six, nine, and 12 months. In addition to blood work and scans, she also needed additional bone marrow biopsies to confirm it was clear of cancer cells. B.A.B.Y. stepped in to cover these biopsies because insurance would not.
At this point in treatment, the B.A.B.Y. Foundation helped our family by covering $7,253.25 in medical bills.
Emmalyn lived life to the absolute fullest and played literally every moment of every day, and many moments of many late nights and early mornings. There was no stopping her from having fun.
After 13 months of being off treatment, we were heartbroken to discover in February of this year that Emmalyn relapsed and the cancer came back, mutated, highly spread throughout her body and bone marrow.
My husband and I had to make the decision to intubate Emmalyn to hopefully give her body time to heal and allow her some relief from the pain she was experiencing. A CT scan on March 23 showed that the cancer was chemo-resistant to four different chemotherapy drugs and continued to grow and spread in Emmalyn’s body.
On March 23rd at 7:15 PM, Emmalyn Mae Still, at the age of 4 years old, peacefully passed away between her father and me.
As we stand in front of you, we are still trying to get the insurance company to cover the bills that have been denied from Emmy’s recent 4-week hospital stay.
Even though Emmy is no longer physically here with us now, her light continues to shine with the strength, courage, and resilience she displayed through all of the challenges she endured.
Ryan and I are here to present a new section within the B.A.B.Y Foundation that is designed to help families who have children who are battling cancer. We proudly present to you the Emmy Fund.
The Emmy Fund exists to honor her life and support families facing childhood cancer — offering relief so they can focus on what matters most.
This is how her legacy lives on.
If this story moved you, we invite you to be part of it.
Donate directly to the Emmy Fund here: Donate to the Emmy Fund
Because even in the hardest moments, there is still a way to bring light.
When a child is fighting for their health, no family should have to fight alone.
