Each year, the Tribute to the Great American Cowboy Rodeo holds a special
ceremony, honoring a child through Jason’s Friends Foundation.
                                                       Mary is the 2025 honoree.
Mary from Casper Diagnosed in 2022 with Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma at 19 months old.
Mary was just 19 months old in 2022 when her family’s world changed forever. Like
many children her age, slips and tumbles were part of Mary’s everyday adventures. But
one particular fall revealed something more alarming: a bump on her face that didn’t go
away. What was initially assumed to be a minor injury turned out to be a malignant
tumor.

Further testing and imaging uncovered even more heartbreaking news — a large 9cm
tumor growing on Mary’s adrenal gland. The presence of tumors in multiple areas
confirmed the worst: Metastatic Neuroblastoma, an aggressive and life-threatening
diagnosis.

Over the course of 2022, Mary’s life was transformed. She endured six rounds of
chemotherapy, tumor resection surgery, radiation, and immunotherapy. Hospital stays
became the norm. Once filled with laughter and play alongside her siblings, Mary’s days
were now spent undergoing invasive treatments and battling through unimaginable side
effects. At the close of 2022, just before she was to undergo her last round of
immunotherapy, scans showed the cancer had returned. Mary spent the first half of
2023 undergoing two back-to-back bone marrow transplants with hopes of being
cancer-free once and for all. She also underwent more rounds of radiation and
immunotherapy.

Yet, through it all, Mary remained a fighter — resilient, brave, and strong beyond her
years. She faced each challenge with a strength that inspired everyone around her.
In December of 2023, Mary and her family rejoiced in the news that her end-of-
treatment scans were clear. On December 14, 2023, Mary was finally able to ring the
bell — the powerful symbol of completing cancer treatment.

Now five years old, Mary is thriving at home with her twin sister and their six siblings.
The twins love joining in with their brothers and sisters during homeschool time, eager
to learn and be part of everything the “big kids” are doing, while being role models and
playmates for their younger sister. Their laughter and curiosity fill the house once again.
Mary is cancer free.

A special thank you to Jason’s Friends Foundation for currently assisting 181
Wyoming families whose children suffer from life threatening childhood cancers

and brain or spinal cord tumors. They provide critical financial assistance,
advocacy and encouragement during life’s most difficult moments.