12. Stephen & Merri Hackett

Merri and Stephen Hackett are native Memphains and high school sweethearts. In 2009, their oldest son Josiah was diagnosed with a brain tumor at just six months of age. and treated both at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. After 18 months of chemotherapy, numerous operations and countless tests and scans, his cancer was declared dormant. Today, Josiah is a middle schooler and continues to be monitored by teams at St. Jude and Le Bonheur. He has a younger brother and sister. Merri works as a special-education teaching assistant and Stephen owns a podcasting company. Each year, their company hosts a fundraiser for St. Jude, raising over $1.5 million in the last three years alone.

Merri and Stephen were one of the first families that the Fund had the honor of supporting and we are so encouraged by how far their family has come since then. This episode is filled with hope and a wonderful discussion on the importance of asking for help and acknowledging each of our individual needs and pain. We can’t wait to hear what you think about this episode and we hope that it helps you and your loved ones!


Use any of the links below to find our podcast, In the Face of Illness. Be sure to leave a review and rate the show as well!

https://open.spotify.com/show/56WEkAJYA66O2VFlya9SIy?si=c524cefe62bc41d5

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-face-of-illness/id1599041655

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7a4c20f7-efc5-4483-876e-c5fb2d0c6297/in-the-face-of-illness

https://www.audible.com/pd/Podcast/B08JJNCZXJ?

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https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3JyZXN0c3BlbmNlZnVuZC5vcmcvcG9kY2FzdD9mb3JtYXQ9cnNz

 Be sure to subscribe, leave a rating and review, and check out our social media accounts for more updates on our podcast.

Our instagram handle is @forrest_spence_fund, our Facebook handle is @ForrestSpenceFund, our Twitter handle is @ForrestSpenceTN, and our LinkedIn account is Forrest Spence Fund. If you’d like to learn more about the Forrest Spence Fund, check out the rest of our website as well!

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13. Dr. Carlos Torres — Director of the Family Assistance Program

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11. Tim Flack - Senior Attorney