Newburgh Native Updates Daughter’s Journey at St. Jude

Nora Hembruch is a patient St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Her mom (a Newburgh, Indiana native) and dad share the story of Nora's fight and how special of a place St. Jude is, with an awesome update.

During our annual St. Jude Radiothon, you hear a lot of songs and stories featuring St. Jude patients and parents who recount their time at the hospital. Some of those stories are a message of hope and success stories, while others don't have the happiest of endings. Regardless of the story, there's always one constant. That is the fact that St. Jude is a very special place committed to finding cures and saving lives.

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While the hospital itself is located in Memphis, Tennessee, its patients come from all over, including right here in the Evansville area. I know a few people who have been impacted by St. Jude and their research. I met Ben and Jocelyn Hembruch in college. Jocelyn is a Newburgh native who still has a lot of family members in the area. Last year, we had them join us during our St. Jude Radiothon. At the time, their nearly two-year-old daughter, Nora, was battling a rare cancer.

And Nora sure does love her mom and dad, as you can tell.

You can take a listen to their story we shared last year below:

One Year Later...

We wanted to check in with Jocelyn and Ben on how Nora is doing a year after our radiothon. My goodness, the update they shared put the biggest smile on my face.

Last year, Nora was in the middle of her fight with rhabdomyosarcoma. They shared the following update on Nora's progress:

We’re incredibly grateful to be able to say that Nora completed her intensive chemotherapy at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on April 20th, 2025. She had scans on May 5th, and those came back clean. After that, she continued with six months of maintenance chemotherapy to make sure everything stayed on track. At the end of October, Nora had her final scans and they were clear. After we got settled back into the room, her team of nurses and doctors came in together to share the news.

Then they started singing ‘No more chemo!’ to the tune of the Oscar Mayer bologna song. They threw confetti, brought in balloons, and had a big sign made just for her. It was one of the most incredible moments of our lives. For me personally, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my chest. After months of just keeping my head above water, I remember sitting there with Nora, letting myself be emotional for a moment, and realizing that I could finally breathe again. In November, Nora was able to have her port removed, which felt like another major milestone. She handled more than any child ever should, and she did it with a strength that still amazes us and amazed so many of the nurses at St. Jude as well.

 

Right now, she’s in the follow-up phase. We’ve officially been discharged as regular patients and are back home seeing our primary care doctor. Nora will return to St. Jude every four months for the next couple of years for scans and checkups, and after that those visits will become less frequent. If everything continues to look good, she’ll eventually be declared in remission.

That part can still be nerve-wracking, but it’s also an incredible gift to be in this stage instead of where we were a year ago. Because Nora participated in a research study specific to her cancer, she’ll continue returning annually as part of that study. Once you’re a St. Jude patient, you’re always a St. Jude patient and we see that as a blessing.

 

 

The care, support, and compassion we received at St. Jude changed our lives. Not just the medical care, but the way they cared for Nora as a whole person and for us as a family. We never received a bill, and that allowed us to focus entirely on helping our daughter heal.

 

 

Fundraisers like the St. Jude Radiothon are what make moments like that possible. Every donation helps another family move from fear to hope. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting St. Jude and for caring about kids like our daughter.

Nora is a true warrior. A child who has gone through some things at a very young age that no child should have to go through. I'm so excited that her journey has such a positive update. You can here more about her journey with her mom below:

How to Become a Partner in Hope with St. Jude

By making the commitment of a monthly $19 donation, St. Jude will send you a "Music Gives to St. Jude Kids" t-shirt being modeled below by a few St. Jude patients as their way of saying, "Thanks!"

Fortunately, becoming a Partner in Hope for only $19 a month is super easy and can be done in one of the three following ways.