Dear Ari & Chai Lifeline,
Where do I begin?
The Magic of Chai Lifeline… The Magic of Camp Simcha!
Some days are really hard and my kid is having a rough time…that’s just one moment when the magic happens…I send a text or e-mail to a counselor and poof instant MAGIC! This guy calls my son from Israel to make him feel better, another video chats from the east coast, while yet another is instant messaging him on Facebook and I see the magic as my sons face lights up and he is laughing and then a smile and happiness becomes contagious and spreads through our house…where just a few minutes before their was sadness, frustration and and heart breaking misery. That’s a glimpse of the magic…
Living on the west coast leaves us far away from the guys as they all are in schools on the other side of the country or world! Yet as far as they are they all reach out and not just during hard times…All the time. A day does not go by that Adam doesn’t hear from someone from camp. The thing is Chai Lifeline truly is Adam’s LIFELINE. I don’t know what he would do without you! You are his friendships, his support and the only thing that makes some of the crazy medical stuff seem secondary. The only thing that makes him truly happy! Just knowing he can call any number of guys is like having a pic line or a central line in his body again. These boys are the oxygen he breathes, his braces on legs, his rope, his LIFELINE.
I know that these young men are volunteers, they have numerous choices of things they could be doing over the summer and throughout the year yet somehow they have selected to be a part of Chai Lifeline and Camp Simcha. These boys are amazing. They go way beyond the commitment of working at camp too make themselves truly a part of these campers lives. As a mom on the west coast, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know some of these guys even with them so far away and they are incredible people. We live so far away and yet are so connected. I treasure every phone call, e-mail, text, I.M., video chat that takes place with them and our family. Everything they do affects our whole family in a positive way. In fact just yesterday a counselor heard that my oldest daughter wasn’t well, he immediatelyimmediatly called. That speaks volumes. It’s magical! Tomorrow Adam is going to children’s hospital for a pre-surgery cast and some tests, one of the counselors happens to be in LA this week for a vacation, he called me to see if he could see Adam, I told him of Adam’s hospital appointment and he immediately said he was meeting us there to be with Adam. He is on vacation and could be doing anything else in LA but is taking the day to spend with Adam.
Adam has a countdown and checks the camp website to see how many days left until camp begins. He wants to move to New York so he can be closer to everyone.
Tell the boys the Wolfpack is so grateful they are in our lives! We wish they all lived in Southern California with us (actually I believe this winter with the snow you have had, you all do too!)
With deep Gratitude,
Ali Wolf (Adam’s mom)
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