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Family Devastated by Hurricane Sandy, Devastated Once Again

For the Schochet family, Hurricane Sandy was devastating. Displaced from their home and lucky to be alive – they had just started getting back up on their feet when the news of the mother Devorah’s illness came. She was diagnosed with ALS.

Saddled with enormous bills to repair their home, now they have the added expense of this illness.

Devorah and her family need to still repair their home, and while doing so, ensuring it will be accessible for her growing adaptive needs. Medical treatment, including a stem cell trial, which is not covered by insurance, is also an absolute necessity.

Friends have set up a campaign to raise the necessary funds, with a goal of raising $100,000 by June.

Click here to learn more and support this family.

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9 Comments

  • What is ALS?

    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.

    A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. “A” means no or negative. “Myo” refers to muscle, and “Trophic” means nourishment–”No muscle nourishment.” When a muscle has no nourishment, it “atrophies” or wastes away. “Lateral” identifies the areas in a person’s spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening (“sclerosis”) in the region.

    As motor neurons degenerate, they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that normally result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of ALS often include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the arms and legs, speech, swallowing or breathing. When muscles no longer receive the messages from the motor neurons that they require to function, the muscles begin to atrophy (become smaller). Limbs begin to look “thinner” as muscle tissue atrophies.

  • refuah shelma

    your family is in my prayers, may she have a full refuah shelma to do more torah , for moshiach is coming soon, and everything will be good

  • CURE

    I recently heard that Israel has come up with a cure for this horrendous disease. It would be worth looking into. Surely people and organizations such as Ahavas chesed would do everything to help cover the financial expenses involved.

  • Snake Oil

    There is no cure and no breakthrough for this disease in Israel.

    A truly despicable man has set up a company to supposedly find a cure, but it is a stock scam in which he announces progress so he can raise the price of his worthless stock. This man started his career in business by stealing from Chabad in EY, and his father is a molestor who escaped a thirty-year prison sentence on a technicality.

    These scams are very common in Israel now, so avoid false hopes and do not put money on keren hatzvi deals there.

  • no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    omg! so much bad stuff r happening now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    i feel terrible 4 this family! it hit them like lightning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!