Stella is a sweet 16-year-old with a generous heart and a passion for helping others. She loves being onstage, especially for musical theater. As the youngest in her family, Stella loves taking care of everyone else.

In 2019, Stella was heartbroken to find out that her older brother, Max, was diagnosed with testicular cancer. At the time, Max was 17 and Stella was 12. Receiving treatment during the pandemic was challenging for the whole family.

Stella remembers writing letters to Max and facetiming him during dinner to talk about their days. She and her dad drove to the hospital to wave to him from outside due to COVID restrictions not allowing them to be in the hospital with him. She remembers crying the whole way home because she just wanted to be there to give him a hug. Although Stella was young, she was devoted to being there for her brother throughout his treatment journey.

Through it all, Stella was grateful to receive care packages from Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) to help her feel seen and supported. Not only is Stella an avid SuperSib, but she’s also hosting a lemonade stand in honor of her brother’s battle. Today, Max is two years cancer-free and playing lacrosse for his college. As Max prepares to graduate, his sister is so proud of him for overcoming such adversity.

In many ways, being a SuperSib has changed Stella’s outlook on life and widened her sense of awareness towards childhood cancer. She wants all SuperSibs to know that it’s normal to feel confused, frustrated, worried or even jealous of other people. Even when you don’t want to talk, it’s good to find the right people who can help you work through those emotions rather than shutting down. “Everyday that I didn’t say what I needed and what I was thinking, the harder it was to say later,” she says.

Still, Stella is determined to keep fighting for families like hers. “I will do anything I can do to help stop this awful disease from taking the lives of any more children and damaging many more SuperSibs,” Stella says.