Jon Pat Ransom, Emily’s brother, is a medical student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine. As he finished up his first year of med school, he applied for a research internship at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. After interviewing, receiving and accepting the position, Jon Pat started working at St. Jude in June of 2022. On his first day of his job he learned that he would be studying a new drug to treat neuroblastoma, the type of cancer that killed his sister in 2006. Jon Pat said he was a bit overwhelmed because he knew, firsthand, how important this research was to so many kids around the world. He has always hoped that he would be able to be a part of a team to find a cure for neuroblastoma in memory of his sister. 

When his parents, Jonathon and Wendy Ransom (founders of Emily’s Power for a Cure), found out about Jon Pat’s research internship, Wendy was brought to tears and both were so proud of their oldest son. 

“He’s wanted to be a doctor since Emily died, and I just knew this was exactly where he was supposed to be,” Wendy said. “I also knew that Emily would be so proud.” 

Emily was only 2 when she died, but she loved her older brothers fiercely. 

Jonathon and Wendy decided they also wanted to be a part of this research and began working toward a fundraising goal for the 2022 Pink Bandana Ball, the flagship fundraising event for Emily’s Power for a Cure. In December 2022, the Ransoms proudly sent a check for $100,000 on behalf of Emily’s Power for a Cure to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in memory of Emily.  

EMILY WITH HER BROTHERS, MAX & JON PAT