[By Rabbi Shlomo Crandall, Director, Chai Lifeline Midwest]
Every year, Chai Lifeline invites a group of teens who have finished treatment for cancer or who are living with chronic illnesses to Wish at the Wall, a ten-day trip to Israel. Each teen invites a parent, someone who has been (and in some cases, continues to be) a full-time caregiver, to share the adventure. It’s an arduous tour. The itinerary takes them from north to south and everywhere in between. They visit holy sites and are privileged to receive greetings and brachas from Roshei Yeshiva and rebbeim. And, as Rabbi Crandall describes, every day is another bracha in itself.
It’s hard to believe, but this is the 10th time I have led this trip. I think I have finally run out of adjectives to properly describe what this trip means for the 14 teenagers and the moms and dads who join them.
I may have run out of words, but I haven’t run out of tears that flow each and every year as I am given renewed strength by a group of the most incredible young people that I have ever met. No, they are not tears of sadness. They are tears of joy, the joy of learning to live every day to the absolute fullest.
One can ask, and I’m sure many would, what does it mean to live life to its fullest for a teenager that has cerebral palsy? What does it mean to live life to its fullest when a teenager lives a life where is she is fully dependent on their parents for daily functions? What it can possibly mean when you have to travel to Israel with oxygen and need a wheelchair to be transported down the aisle of a 747?
This year’s Wish at the Wall participants include teenagers with multiple sclerosis, familial dysautonomia, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, and a host of other illness that are by and large not known to most educated adults. But these kids know all too well what they mean and the daily ramifications.
Living life to the fullest means keeps your head high and not allowing the stares you receive from onlookers to bother you. In the words of one mother, I’m tired of people’s sympathy and do not need the blessing of every person I meet at the supermarket.”
Chai Lifeline says, “Bless them back.” They need the blessing more than we do.
Living life to the fullest means not allowing “I can’t do it” to leak into your vocabulary. For some it means getting onto a camel knowing the risks involved. For others it means floating in the Dead Sea like any other teenager would love doing. And that is exactly how we spent the past few days.
The respect and admiration I have for this young group of men and women is beyond imagination. They teach me what it means to live life to the fullest when they say, “I CAN and I WILL.”
Our Chai Lifeline and Camp Simcha counselors deserve amazing praise. They are heroes in my mind.
But our Chai Lifeline parents are on call 52 weeks a year. I have the privilege of watching them care for their children with love and respect that goes so far beyond how one is used to seeing parents relate to their children. I stand in total awe as they teach their children to live life to its fullest, instilling confidence and joy within them. Chai Lifeline is so honored to share this most precious partnership.
Over the past few days, we have sung together, cried together, and just had fun together. Most significant, we are doing it together, notwithstanding that we are a very diverse group. Yes, they are all teenagers, but it is very evident that they come from very different places on the Jewish spectrum. And together, we are living life to its fullest. In the words of one mom this past Shabbos afternoon, “If I had the magic dust to take away my daughter’s illness, I wouldn’t do it if it meant that I have to return all the beautiful relationships my daughter has built over the years.”
That is strength. That is living life to its fullest.
What is Chai Lifeline? What is Wish at the Wall? It is the renewed hope in the Jewish people and the gold standard of what chesed is all about.
What an honor it has been to take this journey with this amazing group of people, and it’s only day four of this astounding journey. Thank you Hartman Family, and all our friends in Chai Lifeline Midwest, for making Wish at the Wall possible this year and every year.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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One Response
Truly amazing what they do! I was privileged to join the kabalos shabbos at the kosel and was blown away. It was so leibedik and inspiring. The head counselor who was leading the davening had such superhuman energy. It was beautiful. Mi k’amcha yisroel!!!!