Shalom.
My
name is Uri Cohen, and I'm 15
years old.
Until 2 years ago, I was just
like every other kid: an 8th
grade pupil that only thought
about things surrounding my
school, neighborhood, good
friends, games, soccer and
especially surfing on the waves,
which I loved the most and was
really excellent at! I couldn't
have been further away from
worries about health, and
certainly not life-threatening
or terminal diseases. Even when
pains started attacking my left
thigh and pelvis, I thought it
was growing pains or cramps
caused by sports - which is what
the doctors thought when they
examined me. One doctor went as
far as suspecting a broken bone.
But when the pains became more
frequent and intolerable, my
doctor finally referred me for
an "MRI" x-ray. From there the
road was very short to the E.R.
at Rambam Hospital and immediate
hospitalization. What started as
a suspected fracture turned out
to be a tumor in my pelvis,
"large and impressive" according
to the E.R. doctor, which was
later discovered to be
malignant, eating away at the
pelvic bones and threatening to
spread even further.
They broke the hard news to me
gradually, stage by stage, until
I started to grasp that I'm a
kid who has cancer. It's hard to
describe the thoughts that went
through my mind. In those days,
the word cancer meant one thing
and that was death. It was hard
to even cope with this new
reality, even though all around
me everyone was trying to
radiate optimism, to strengthen
me and keep away thoughts of
despair.
From my talks with the doctors I
understood that I was about to
face an extremely difficult and
long battle, which involved a
lot of suffering. I was so
scared of the treatments that,
when I got to the oncology ward
to start a series of
chemotherapy treatments, I was
in a low, sad and depressed mood.
underwent months of incredibly
difficult and exhausting
treatment and terrible
side-effects: severe pains, high
fever, low blood counts, damage
to my immune system, vomiting
and diarrhea, sores inside my
mouth and digestive tract, loss
of all my body hair and more.
For many long days I didn't want
to leave my hospital room,
didn't want to meet anyone, even
the other sick kids in the ward.
And
so, in the terrible state I was
in, I was introduced to "Larger
Than Life" for the first time,
when I was told that I'm a
candidate to join a group of
kids with cancer, like me, for a
trip to Orlando in the USA. This
was like a ray of sunlight for
me within the dark despair of
this awful disease. Anticipating
the trip was so exciting for me;
suddenly I could talk about
something that had nothing to do
with my illness and treatment -
fun and enjoyable things. And,
indeed, during the amazing trip
to Orlando, I got acquainted
with all the wonderful people
that do 'holy work' at "Larger
Than Life", led by Benny and
Zion, and I got very attached to
them, as did the rest of the
kids that were with me. The trip
itself was a once-in-a-lifetime
experience! - almost 3 weeks
without thinking about
hospitals, chemotherapy or low
blood counts - just pure fun and
pleasure! Even more so, it was
the first time I got attached to
kids like myself and realized
that I'm not alone in this
struggle. From the older kids I
drew encouragement and strength,
and learned that there is hope
at the end of the fight.
After the dream trip to Orlando,
the great people at "Larger Than
Life" stayed in constant touch
with me, especially Benny Cohen,
who always made sure to invite
me to the fun days and vacations
that they organized, and knowing
how much I love soccer, added me
to the group that flew to
Manchester England to meet Eyal
Berkowitz and be his host on the
home field and to watch Maccabi
Haifa play against Manchester.
It's hard for me to describe in
words how much joy and hope
these "Larger Than Life" trips
and activities have given me!
And I saw the same joy and hope
in the eyes of the other kids
that were with me, both those
whose condition was bad and
those who, to my sorrow, did not
make it and are no longer with
us.
Today, all the chemo, difficult
and complex surgery, a bone
marrow transplant and a long
series of radiation treatments
are behind me, and I am hopeful
that at the end of the road I
will beat the disease.
In
conclusion, I'd like to take
this opportunity to, once again,
thank "Larger Than Life" and all
of the wonderful people led by
Benny Cohen and Zion Abitboul,
who are doing blessed work every
day of the year, for the benefit
of kids with cancer in Israel.
Thank you,
Uri Cohen
Kiryat Yam
