His body is paralyzed, but his strong will drives him

Meet the Hero!

My name is Chaim and I live in the United States. I attend a regular yeshivah where I’m very proud to be an honor student. I have a lively sense of humor, lots of friends, and I love to sing, especially zemiros on Shabbos.

My body is paralyzed from my chest down. When I was a baby, the doctors discovered a dangerous neuroblastoma tumor in my spine, and I needed emergency lifesaving surgery to remove it. The surgery was successful, but there was a secondary tumor that caused irreversible damage to my legs, leaving me unable to move them or  walk, since I can’t feel them or put weight on them.

What was it like to be paralyzed as such a young child?

You may laugh, but I didn’t realize that I was different from my siblings. I played with my brothers and sisters like every child in a regular family. I got around the house by crawling on my stomach and using my elbows. I even figured out how to get up and down the stairs! When I was five, they strapped me into a wheelchair, and I used my hands to move the wheels. My mother says that people used to jump off the sidewalk when they saw me coming because I cruised so fast!

When I was seven, I learned how to walk up and down steps wearing braces and a walker for support. Once I fell and broke my leg, but after eight weeks in a body cast, I put the braces back on and kept trying until I was able to learn how to walk by myself. And eventually I did! In the beginning, a policeman had to hold up the traffic for me when I wanted to cross the street, because the light would turn green before I could make it across, but after much practice, I was able to cross in time.

How does being paralyzed affect your day-to-day life?

The main issue I have is getting around, but I work really hard to be independent and do pretty well. I have a state-of-the-art wheelchair, and many buildings and means of transportation are handicapped accessible. I might need help to reach things on high shelves, or pick up fallen objects, but if there’s no one available I can use my grabber tool, which is a long stick with jaws on one end that catches hold of things. I’ve learned in therapy how to dress myself and take care of personal needs like bathing. Many people don’t even realize that I am handicapped until they notice the wheelchair.