Maya's Miracle

Friends, 

As some of you may know, 7 yearsago just 4 weeks after she was born, our daughter Maya was diagnosed withRetinoblastoma, a rare form of childhood eye cancer. Overnight we went fromlearning how to change diapers to dealing with the side-effects of chemotherapyon a one-month old with a prognosis that was uncertain and that eventuallyrequired 3 rounds of chemotherapy, 3 surgeries, countless check-ups, tests andfollow-ups all before she reached the age of 1. The pain of having to see yourchild having to go through this is something that we cannot describe and theimpact was devastating for our young family at a physical, mental and emotionallevel.

Maya’sstrength and the heroic efforts of her doctors and nurses  helped her get through having to deal with morebefore she reached 1 than most of us have to do deal with in our lifetimes andshe is thankfully in remission now - and we pray stays so forever.

We alsorealized how lucky we were to not only have such incredible supportsystems (our friends and family, our employers, medical teams – too many to name) but alsothe resources to be able to give Maya the best treatment we could right here in NY at MSK. What wediscovered on our journey though was that there are countless families both inthe US and around the world who have to deal with childhood cancer but do nothave the same support systems or resources to get the best care.

This iswhere St Jude’s comes in. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude’swhether it is for treatment, travel, housing or food (and all the ancillarycosts outside of the treatments add up fast). In 1962, childhood cancersurvival rates were only 20% and it now more than 80% thanks to the efforts oforganizations like St. Jude’s.

This year our family will be walking at the St Jude’s Cancer Walk in New York City on September 29th. We would LOVE for you to join our walk in person and / or donate to our efforts – Team Maya’s Miracle. No amount is too small - thank you for all your support as we try to eradicate childhood cancer for good.

With gratitude, 

Maya, Zayn, Sabrin, Faraz