Memphis, TN-We all know her and love Greshun De Bouse for all she does already! Well, here's yet another reason to love Greshun De Bouse! While many spent Halloween meandering from door to door collecting sweet treats, sweetheart Greshun De Bouse was busy being a sweet treat to the kid's at St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, TN. Queen Greshun arrived adorned with crown and sash, to bring smiles to faces of children who are often too ill to get out of bed, go to school, or go trick-or-treating. Greshun says, "Those who can go to school often face pretty extensive bullying due to hairloss, but I stand in the gap for these children as a bullying prevention and recovery advocate. Sadly, hair loss is an adverse effect of chemotherapy, and hairless kids with cancer can face bullying at least three times as severe as patients/persons with hair. This is why bullying prevention efforts are so important for this hairless population of kids with cancer. The St. Jude's Halloween Event-held at the hospital-was open to current and former patients and their relatives, and St. Jude's is familiar territory to Greshun De Bouse. How so, you ask? Well, considering she spent much time there accompanying a relative with cancer diagnosis, it is safe to say Greshun is quite familiar with the hospital. Still, Halloween 2019 is the first time she has visited the since childhood, and when asked how it felt being back there, Greshun says "It was surreal. I was overcome with emotion. It was a lot to take in. St. Jude's is a huge part of our lives. Once I saw the hospital whose medical staff I credit with saving my relative's life, I was grateful for the opportunity of coming back and giving back. Nicknamed a miracle herself after surviving a recent would-be fatal crash caused by a careless driver, Greshun De Bouse has even more respect for life and the huge role St. Jude's medical staff played saving the life of her relative. The event coordinator was quite cordial and accommodating, and St. Jude's staff eagerly took photos with her, and there were many highlights-like this little pageant girl's dad who had to pull her away from Greshun because she was mesmerized by her crown. Understandably, no photos with kids or families are allowed for confidentiality purposes.
A major highlight of the event is when St. Jude's CEO Dr. James Downing happily shook her hand, and told Greshun "Thank you for what you're doing for us,"-referring to her bullying prevention efforts for kids with cancer in the hairless phase. After conversing a bit and posing for photos together, Dr. Downing and Greshun De Bouse continued their individual journeys about the hospital interacting with more kids. When asked for comment on how this all felt, Greshun exclaimed, "When St. Jude's CEO shakes your hand and thanks you for your work, that's HUGE..trumping everything indeed!" Greshun went on to say, "It was just a great day. From Deontae who ensured I was road-ready on my way to St. Jude's, "Chalie Brown" character employee who accompanied/directed me to the hospital entrance, Deana and Lauren (nuclear medicine and ultra sound departments respectively), Rosa aka "Dorothy" from Wizard of Oz, grants and marketing departments, field marketing and admin ops departments, Ms. Campbell-event coordinator, Ms. Velma from the lab, the brave kids and parents, and to all else I interacted with, it was a great moment in time. Greshun says, "People are so loving to love her readily like that. I just wanted to brighten the kids' day. Mission accomplished. #greshun