Community of Love for Wildman Halpern Family

As some of you have heard, our dear friends Ian and Sarah are in need of our love and support.

Their oldest daughter, Orli, who is 11 (almost 12) was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer  (hepatoblastoma) just over a year ago.  Orli is a 6th grader. She is an avid a dancer and a devoted big sister to Hana, who is 7. 

Orli has completed 7 rounds of chemotherapy and a liver transplant earlier this year, which required them to relocate from their home in Metro D.C. to Boston and back.  Recently Orli needed  lung surgery to remove a small cancerous tumor and  she continues to undergo frequent testing, scans and treatment.  It has been a long road but the Wildman Halpern family has traveled it together and they are optimistic that better days are coming.

We have been overwhelmed with an outpouring of people wanting to help ease their burden in any way they can during this difficult time. Our goal is to focus on ways to best support them so that they are able to focus their time on Orli and Hana. To that end, we have created a GoFundMe page to help alleviate the burden of unforeseen, often astronomical, expenses that unfortunately continue to accrue with this type of illness. 

At a time of extreme uncertainty for the Wildman Halpern family, we're aiming to remove some of the financial stress that we anticipate. Donations will go towards covering additional childcare costs for the family, as Ian and Sarah care for Orli,  medical expenses, therapies, lost work and unanticipated costs as they arise.  We know that Orli's treatment and recovery will likely last many more months and continue to affect the entire family profoundly.   

Please know that Ian & Sarah are deeply grateful for your and support and love even if they are not able to immediately reply to you as they are focused on Orli. Should you have more questions around logistics or volunteering, please feel free to reach out to Elianna Yolkut [email redacted].  

As we learn more about the family's needs in the upcoming weeks we will update this community with volunteer opportunities. Thank you for your patience and understanding as they try to figure out how to best garner the love and support of their communities. Sending all the love to the Wildman Halpern family and prayers to Orli for a full recovery. Please add Orli to your mishaberach prayers: Orli Chaim bat Sarah v Yitzhak