Team Lea
Donation protected
This is my 9 year old niece, Lea Wallerstein. She is vivacious, adventurous, creative, and kind. She loves her family, her dog Henry, her sweet friends, summers at the beach, collecting cool bugs, and winters on the slopes. She’s fearless, funny and chatty. She’s a kid you’d really like.
Last spring Lea began to trip and stumble more than the average clumsy kid. She described a tingling in her mouth, left arm and leg. On May 1, 2018, her mother Elin took her to Boston Children’s hospital for an MRI. My brother Scott called to tell me that Lea had an inoperable brain tumor. Devastated doesn’t begin to describe how we felt.
Though we were reeling, Lea remained fearless and determined. She did everything asked of her to get better. She endured a brain biopsy, 6 weeks of daily radiation followed by chemotherapy and multiple medications at home. She was never self-conscious that she lost her hair or had a scar from her biopsy. As the months passed the tumor receded and she grew stronger. Though she tires easily, she went to summer camp, was riding her bike again and returned to school, and she even went skiing this winter. Lea didn’t feel like a “sick kid” anymore.
Cancer doesn’t play by the rules. Recently, Lea began to have mobility symptoms again. Just days before her 9th birthday, an MRI revealed a new, more aggressive tumor. She had to begin her fight all over again. Lea is now a part of a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Scott, Elin and Lea will be staying at the Ronald McDonald House near the hospital and commuting back to their daughter Alice in Massachusetts each week.
Many have asked what they can do to help. Now that Scott and Elin are regularly missing time at work and have exhausted or not qualified for paid time off, they need our support even more. The intent of this GoFundMe is to discreetly provide the support they need to forge ahead, maintaining some semblance of normalcy in their lives. By coming together we can help to balance their loss of income, uncovered treatment costs, co-pays, deductibles and medical travel. Your generosity helps ensure that finances are not among their many worries.
With respect to the family’s wishes, please do not publicly share this GoFundMe on any social media accounts at this time. Feel free to share privately among your networks ensuring those recipients will respect their privacy and also not publicly share. Thank you for helping Lea and our family!
Last spring Lea began to trip and stumble more than the average clumsy kid. She described a tingling in her mouth, left arm and leg. On May 1, 2018, her mother Elin took her to Boston Children’s hospital for an MRI. My brother Scott called to tell me that Lea had an inoperable brain tumor. Devastated doesn’t begin to describe how we felt.
Though we were reeling, Lea remained fearless and determined. She did everything asked of her to get better. She endured a brain biopsy, 6 weeks of daily radiation followed by chemotherapy and multiple medications at home. She was never self-conscious that she lost her hair or had a scar from her biopsy. As the months passed the tumor receded and she grew stronger. Though she tires easily, she went to summer camp, was riding her bike again and returned to school, and she even went skiing this winter. Lea didn’t feel like a “sick kid” anymore.
Cancer doesn’t play by the rules. Recently, Lea began to have mobility symptoms again. Just days before her 9th birthday, an MRI revealed a new, more aggressive tumor. She had to begin her fight all over again. Lea is now a part of a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Scott, Elin and Lea will be staying at the Ronald McDonald House near the hospital and commuting back to their daughter Alice in Massachusetts each week.
Many have asked what they can do to help. Now that Scott and Elin are regularly missing time at work and have exhausted or not qualified for paid time off, they need our support even more. The intent of this GoFundMe is to discreetly provide the support they need to forge ahead, maintaining some semblance of normalcy in their lives. By coming together we can help to balance their loss of income, uncovered treatment costs, co-pays, deductibles and medical travel. Your generosity helps ensure that finances are not among their many worries.
With respect to the family’s wishes, please do not publicly share this GoFundMe on any social media accounts at this time. Feel free to share privately among your networks ensuring those recipients will respect their privacy and also not publicly share. Thank you for helping Lea and our family!
Organizer and beneficiary
Team Lea
Organizer
Sudbury, MA
Elin Wallerstein
Beneficiary