When Chagit Berger reached the hospital, the staff kept asking her the same thing: how are you feeling today? A 14-year-old with Stage 4 cancer had every reason to answer honestly. Instead, she smiled and turned it around. "How are you?" she asked one nurse who looked worn down after a long shift. The nurse did not know what to say.
>> To help Chagit keep fighting, click here
A few weeks earlier, she had been home in Beitar Illit, helping look after her younger brothers and sisters like any other week. Then came the tests, and then the words no parent is built to hear: aggressive cancer, treatment that has to start now, and no promises about what comes after.
Her parents, Esther and Yosef, have not stopped since. One of them stays at her bedside at all times, which means the other holds the rest of the family together while the medical bills and the ordinary household costs keep climbing at the same time.
"We are doing everything we can for our daughter", Esther says quietly. "No parent can give up on a child, but we cannot do this alone".
>> Help Esther and Yosef cover Chagit's treatment, click here
The goal is $100,000 to carry Chagit through treatment and keep the household steady while her parents fight for her. So far, $3,421 has come in, which leaves $96,579 still to raise, and the treatment will not wait for the fund to catch up.
Chagit is still asking the people around her how they are doing. The least the rest of us can do is make sure she gets the chance to keep asking.
>> Give now and help a 14-year-old keep fighting, click here
Every donation is tax-deductible.