Audrey, 6, Menlo Park 

Audrey is a joyful 6-year-old who loves princesses, playing dress-up, and cuddling with animals. But Audrey’s path to childhood has not been easy. 

For nearly two years, Audrey’s life was defined not by playgrounds and picture books, but by hospital rooms and treatments. She was diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening immune disorder that kept her immune system in constant overdrive, causing inflammation and damage throughout her body.  

“She lost her pivotal baby and toddler years from her illness,” her mom, Lyndsay, says. “But she’s so smart. She’s every bit a 6-year-old in her brain, even though she doesn’t look like one.”  

At Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, a multidisciplinary team of specialists came together to give Audrey the best opportunity for a brighter future. They first worked to calm her hyper-active immune system with chemotherapy, steroids, and an advanced antibody therapy — and then began preparing her for a second stem cell transplant. Six months after her first transplant, Audrey received a haploidentical stem cell transplant from her mom, a lifesaving procedure that gave her a new, functioning immune system.  

“What she went through is kind of crazy,” Lyndsay says, “but her doctors and providers have such a wonderful love for Audrey. I feel like they love her as much as we do.”  

After spending so much of her young life in and out of hospitals, Audrey was finally able to return home, a milestone the family once thought might never come. She now benefits from ongoing care that includes managing diabetes, nutrition support to help her grow, and a plan for a future kidney transplant when she’s big enough.  

Despite the hardships, Audrey’s personality and outlook have remained bright.  

“She is so happy every day, and she is finally getting to experience many of the joys of life,” Lyndsay says, describing how Audrey now twirls and dances in her favorite dresses, a celebration of being a kid.  

Today, Audrey’s immune system is functioning close to normal, and her strength grows a little more every day. In partnership with her care team, Audrey’s family has turned their experience into hope for others by raising funds and awareness through Team Audrey at Summer Scamper. In 2025, their team raised more than $13,000. Their work honors the power of research, specialized care, and donor support to transform a near-hopeless situation into a story of resilience and possibility. 

We can’t wait to celebrate Audrey on Sunday, June 21 as a 2026 Summer Scamper Patient Hero, a girl who, through courage, care, and community, is finally getting to be a kid.