Annie’s Story

In 1998, The St. Louis Bereavement Center for Young People began serving grieving children and their families. It has been an amazing journey for everyone involved. We chose our name in the beginning for clarity, so everyone would understand the type of programming we offered. We changed it to Annie’s Hope to reflect the spirit of what we have become; a place of hope, fun and a brighter tomorrow for the children and their families.

Annie’s Hope is a legacy to a young lady who never lost hope for her future. Even though she was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of thirteen, experienced major complications including a bone marrow transplant, persistent fungal infection, liver failure, kidney failure, dialysis, and a kidney transplant, she never let it shatter her efforts to make her life fulfilling, fun and worth every moment. As her mother, Eileen, says, “She was a girl going off to war”. Annie lived as if she had a war to fight, yet, when it was over she would continue her life as she had planned. She viewed her disease and all its hardships as only a detour to a long and healthy life ahead. She found good in every day. She was thankful for each new morning. She never gave up. In December of 1991, when Annie was living the life she had planned, a sudden intense infection took her life. Her family, mom, dad, sister and two brothers, were devastated. As they explored how they would survive her death, they focused on Annie’s will to live. They would hold hope for a better tomorrow just like she did. They would “fight the war” and one day find a new life that had adjusted to her death. Through hard work, they are now able to remember her courage, her strength and her ability to inspire without gut wrenching sadness. Helping families like hers to discover their own courage, strength and hope for the future is what Annie’s Hope is all about. It is a safe, warm place where grieving children, teens and their families can find comfort and support throughout their grief journey.