Fourteen years ago, on Purim, the most joyous day of the year, our beautiful daughter, Rosie was born and I am sure it was no coincidence that she was born on that day because she is the most joyous and kind person I know but in that moment she came into this world, our world changed in every way imaginable and in countless ways unimaginable. At just two weeks old, we found out that Rosie was born with Cystic Fibrosis. Always one to be unique, Rosie is just one of 70,000 people worldwide to have CF.

Life drastically changes once you have your first child. Endless nights, round the clock diaper changes, one feeding melds into the next one. It can all be a bit overwhelming, now combine all that with finding out that you perfect baby is born with an extremely rare medical condition, a condition you have hardly even heard of and know nothing about. It literally knocks the wind out of you. In a very short time, we went from being the typical overwhelmed, parents of a newborn to being terrified and overwhelmed parents of a newborn with a major diagnosis. Overwhelming is an understatement. Scary doesn't do it justice. What would happen to our baby? What future would she have? How are we, two kids ourselves, supposed to be able to care for her and keep her healthy? We were in over our heads. In just a few days we had to learn how to administer medications we never heard of. We had to learn terminologies and procedures that were complicated. We had to be trained in order to provide critical respiratory therapy multiple times a day. Our home looked like a pharmacy, filled with medical equipment and prescriptions. It literally felt like we would never be able to breathe again and that life would never be "normal" again.

We were surrounded by family and friends and a medical team who cared about us and supported us but still, there is a part of having a child with a serious medical condition, where you often feel alone and isolated. Luckily, most of the people around you never have to deal with the things you do, and you are thankful for that, but there is so much they just don't understand about your life.

Mendel and I decided very early on that we were going to do everything in our power to raise Rosie to be a healthy, strong and independent individual. She was never going to be held back by her diagnosis and that was never going to be her identity. Fast forward several years and you will agree, thank G-D, that to know Rosie, you can see, she is not hindered in any way by having CF. She is strong and determined. If you met her and did not know about her diagnosis, you would think she is just like any other teenager and this is a true testament to her strength. Every morning, before she goes to school, she has to spend time doing her respiratory therapy with various nebulizer treatments. She has to take several medications daily, and she has to take medication before she eats anything and at night before she goes to sleep, she must do her respiratory therapy and nebulizer treatments again. This is done every single day. There's no vacation from it and she does it all while still maintaining excellent grades in school, an active social life and after school extra curricular activities. She's a brown belt in Karate!

This is where Chai Lifeline steps into the picture. Here we have a typical kid in every way and her biggest dream in life is to go to overnight camp with all of her friends. When she was three years old and began Kiddie Camp for the first time, on the first day of camp, she walked in asking where her bunk house was and where she would be sleeping at night. Believe me, precocious Rosie was ready for overnight camp at three years old! Imagine her devastation when she was told she would not be able to go to regular overnight camp. They just did not have the means to facilitate and over see her medical needs. Thank G-D we found out about Chai Lifeline and Camp Simcha Special because they literally have made Rosie's dreams of going to over night camp come true and have completely embraced her since we first became connected with them. She looks forward to camp all year. She has made incredible, life long friends and has met the most special and amazing people that exist in the world. Rosie is a part of the Chai Lifeline/Camp Simcha Special family and we are eternally grateful and that is why I have decided to do something in return. I have never done anything like this before and I know it's going to be tough but if Rosie can do what she does on a daily basis, I know I can do this and I will!

This summer I will bike from Central Jersey through Upstate NY to support kids like Rosie, suffering from pediatric illness. This is no ordinary cycling event; it’s an exhilarating ride ending at Camp Simcha, a remarkable overnight camp that provides seriously ill children with a vacation from sickness, restoring their spirits and renewing their determination to fight.

The ride won't be easy; neither is life for a child with cancer or other serious illness. Camp Simcha and its sister camp, Camp Simcha Special, are Chai Lifeline’s flagship programs. Every year these two camps offer 430 children a chance to forget about illness and just be kids again. To learn more about Camp Simcha and Camp Simcha special, visit campsimcha.org.

I will be biking to camp on Tuesday, July 16th, 2019. My objective is to raise $3,600 by then, and I hope you will help me reach this goal. All donations are 100% tax-deductible.

Please contribute by clicking on the donate button now.

Thank you for supporting me and, in doing so, helping children and their families cope with the diagnosis, treatment, and aftermath of serious pediatric illness.

Best regards,

Rochie Grossbaum
PS For more info about the bike ride please visit tourdesimcha.com