Producer Ryan Murphy donated $10 million to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where his son Ford Theodore Miller Murphy has been treated for pediatric cancer over the last two years.
"Today at the hospital we are donating a wing in tribute to Ford and our family is making a gift of $10 million dollars so that other children can experience the love and care of this exceptional facility," Murphy wrote Monday on Instagram.
The "American Horror Story" and "Glee" producer made the announcement as he marked Ford's 4th birthday. The post, which featured a photo of the youngster riding a pony, revealed the child's history with neuroblastoma and detailed the life-saving care he'd received at the children's hospital.
The disease, which develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body, was diagnosed after Ford's pediatrician found an abdominal tumor the size of a tennis ball during a regular checkup, Murphy said.
In honor of the family's donation, CHLA will name the fifth floor of the Marion and John E. Anderson Pavilion the "Ford Theodore Miller Murphy Floor," the hospital said. It is a floor dedicated to caring for medically and surgically acute patients of all ages.
"Two years ago, this sweet little innocent boy with a deep belly laugh and an obsession with Monster Trucks was diagnosed with neuroblastoma...an often fatal pediatric cancer," Murphy wrote.
Since then, his toddler underwent a major surgery and several difficult procedures, an ordeal that reduced the Emmy-winning producer to "a trembling wreck."
Neuroblastoma is the third most common cancer in children and the second most common solid tumor in children, besides brain tumors, according to CHLA.
But now Ford is strong and thriving: "He just celebrated his fourth birthday, a milestone we are all so thrilled about," Murphy said.
Murphy thanked his photographer husband David Miller, Ford's pediatrician Dr. Lauren Crosby and the staff at CHLA.
"No child is turned away at Children's Hospital. We are so honored and lucky to contribute, and encourage everybody who can to do the same," he wrote.
"The Miller Murphy family's generosity will help us continue to provide world-class, lifesaving care to the patients we treat," CHLA President and CEO Paul S. Viviano said in a statement. "This gift reflects the family's dedication to enhancing the care of children throughout the Los Angeles community."
Murphy's gift will be used to support CHLA's efforts in surgical oncology, neuroblastoma treatment and research in the hospital's Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases.
Portions of the donation will be used to appoint Dr. James Stein, the hospital's chief medical officer, as inaugural chairman of Surgical Oncology, and another will be used to support an endowment in neuroblastoma care, the hospital said.
"David and I, as well as Logan, (their older child), are immensely grateful for the care that CHLA provided not only to Ford, but to us as well," Murphy said in a statement from CHLA. "His cancer diagnosis was one of life's unexpected moments and the team at the hospital provided a comforting atmosphere in the midst of a trying situation."
"CHLA was an obvious choice for us when we learned of Ford's diagnosis," Miller added. "We needed a support system and their experience with children and parents proved invaluable."
