Croton Connection - Ike Baer-Sanft

Friends of Leah Sanft, David Baer and Ike Baer-Sanft,

The year of 2023 brought significant change for Leah, David and their son, Ike. Ike, now 21, is in his senior year at the Berklee College of Music working on his Bachelor's in Music degree with a concentration in performance, production and recording. Ike is an incredibly talented musician, and, for those of you who know our dear Croton friend, Leah, Ike is the embodiment of his mother’s kind, caring nature.

Last March, Ike was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth. Their life changed suddenly from Leah’s work as an Art teacher (K-6) in public school, David’s work as a multi-media artist, and Ike’s musical studies---to days became filled with appointments at Dana Farber in Boston as they worked to save Ike’s life, literally. As you can imagine, researching recommended treatments, and exploring every option to understand the risks and possible rewards became all consuming. We won’t go into all the details about their ordeal since March 2023, but want you to know, this small loving family has gone to extraordinary lengths with medical treatments and surgeries to purge cancer from Ike’s body.

Through the spring and summer of 2023, Leah and David dropped everything and took leaves of absence from their work in order to stay in Boston to support Ike through his five months of harrowing medical treatments. In September, Ike's PET scan was encouraging, and he was able to resume his studies at Berklee for the fall semester. Leah and David returned to their lives in Ossining, NY with hope in their hearts. Friends, who have been aware of the hardships they were experiencing, breathed again with a sense of optimism and deep gratitude.

Sadly, a follow-up PET scan in November showed a cancerous spot on one of his lungs. While we were all celebrating Thanksgiving, Leah, David and Ike were back speaking with the oncologists at Dana Farber to determine the reality of this new growth. Ike began immunotherapy treatments almost immediately. The success of this treatment provided the hope that the family was riding upon. The latest February PET scan revealed that the treatments were not working. They are now in the throes of the arduous task of figuring out the next steps and treatments to try. We are all praying that the right therapy will be successful and Ike will live a long and happy life. Ike is a hardworking, talented, caring person who deserves so much more than this hardship.

While the family does benefit from the amazing protection from Leah’s NY State Union health insurance, you can imagine, this is impacting the family in tremendous ways---financially and otherwise. They have, and now will need to continue, further stretching their resources with travel, accommodations, bills and the general expenses of being there for Ike at every step and decision. Supporting Leah and David to relieve some of the financial uncertainty would be a tremendous gift.

To be completely honest, Leah and David initially resisted the idea of creating this GoFundMe drive, because of their modest natures and feelings of discomfort asking for donations. Their friends have encouraged Leah and David to let us do this ONE thing we feel might help them in some small way. In a world full of well-intentioned “let me know if there is anything I can do,” this feels like the one thing we CAN do. Hearing that, and understanding that this gift will ultimately help Ike, has led them to understand and accept us pulling together for them in this way.

We have set a goal of raising $35,000---though any amount raised will be incredibly appreciated. So, if you can help with this goal in any small way, we would be forever grateful. Whether or not you are able to donate, perhaps you can share this story with friends who might be able to help. The Croton connection is strong for this family and their friends are hoping we can ease some difficulties and make a difference in their lives. After all, caring for one another is the one great test of human kindness, and they truly deserve our love and support.

Thanks for reading,

Emily (Ford) Daeschler and Karen (Greenberg) Gagnon