Hello all, thank you so much for visiting my page!  2 ½ years ago, when I was 9 years old, I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. I went through chemotherapy and major surgery to remove the tumor, missing almost my entire fourth grade year, and I continue to have orthopedic surgeries to reconstruct my leg. My surgeries have all been at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York, which is how my family and I got to know Chai Lifeline!

Chai lifeline does so many acts of chesed to help families going through horrible life threatening diseases. If you need kosher meals in the hospital - they bring them. If you are bored in the hospital - they have volunteers there every single day to help pass the time. If you need somewhere to stay while waiting for surgery - they find it for you. I say “the doctors fix you physically and Chai Lifeline lets you survive mentally.” Chai lifeline means life to me.

And that’s not all that they do. Chai Lifeline runs an AMAZING camp called Camp Simcha, which brings kids with cancer from all over the world to camp in New York. I can’t even describe what it felt like to arrive at camp my first summer there. I had just finished chemo three weeks before camp started, and camp was life-changing. 

My camp friends understand what it’s like to wait for scan results. They get how it feels to have another surgery when you’re not expecting it, and to be in endless physical therapy and other recovery. Being a kid with cancer is like being part of a club nobody ever wants to join, but also one that few can understand if they haven’t experienced serious illness firsthand. My Camp Simcha friends all went through it or are going through it too - and they understand what that means and we support each other.

Not that all we did at camp was talk about cancer. Every single day at camp - every single HOUR - brought us fun, creative, JOYFUL experiences. I love making candles at camp, doing glass art, pottery, and other creative arts. I love swimming in the pool and boating and swimming on the lake. I love the zipline and the helicopter ride (yup, we got to ride in a helicopter!). Most of all, I love that my Camp Simcha friends and counselors have become like family to me. My camp counselors have become like big sisters to me. I talk to or text with them almost daily all year long. My camp counselors and friends  are somehow always available when I need someone to talk to. They support me anytime I’m in New York for doctor visits or surgeries. They even come visit me in Boston, including making the trip to be with me for my bat mitzvah! 

My family and I can never thank Chai Lifeline enough for everything they have done for us, but as a small start, I plan to donate a portion of my bat mitzvah gifts to support Chai Lifeline. I hope that you’ll join me in supporting Chai Lifeline so that they can continue to help kids like me.