Last week, our cousin from Michigan sent us video clip a of her son Matthew who is currently a 5th grader. He had been interviewed on the evening news at a fundraiser held by his school to help a classmate who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. After learning that the doctors felt there was no more hope, the family had elected to travel to Texas to receive alternative treatment at the Burzynski Clinic in Texas.
His community knew since this was an alternative treatment center, the family’s insurance would not cover the costs. They put out an urgent plea and with the help of many of the 5th graders, made posters, created fundraisers and came together to assist the family in paying for the treatment. They felt this was Ben’s window of opportunity, and they wanted to help him.
As I read Ben’s story and heard our young cousin speak about his classmate, I realized we don’t always know where lives lessons will come from. There is no way a textbook or teacher could teach these kids the kind of lessons they are learning from this experience. Matthew said, “He got his friends together and they collected bottles and cans in his neighborhood and raised $1,300.” These young kids and their parents rallied together as a community to provide a family not only monetarily help but also hope and love. I know that these kids will remember how their classmate bravely faced his treatments and how their community rallied to help.
I was very moved by this story and so glad our cousin had shared it.
To make a donation towards Ben’s treatment:
If you would like to mail the check rather than present it to Bank of America, please send it to: Family of Benjamin Martin, P.O. Box 120, Novi, MI 48376 .
For additional information, please visit: www.bensfight.org.
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