MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – First lady Michelle Obama has visited with young patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, chatting with them in an activities room and participating in a question and answer session.
Obama was making her first visit to St. Jude as first lady, following in the footsteps of Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Obama’s plane was delayed by about 1 ½ hours due to a maintenance issue, but the children waited for her, working on an art project.
St. Jude is considered a leading researcher of cancer and other life-threatening diseases that affect children. St. Jude says it is working to increase the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade.