One Boy’s Question, One Family’s Answer

Orit Beitler and Ziv Rozenblum of Massachusetts joined Team FD as fundraisers for the first time this year. “Our son Jonathan is 7 years old and was diagnosed with fibrous dysplasia (FD) when he was 5. It all started with a rapid and unexpected loss of weight followed by a fracture to his skull as a result of a minor fall,” explained Ziv. Like many other young children with FD, Jonathan struggled to understand his diagnosis.

At one point, Jonathan asked his parents if he was a good boy. When they reassured him that he was a very good boy, Jonathan said, “Then why did I get this horrible disease?”

Anyone might imagine how hard it would be to answer a question like that from a child. The Rozenblums told their son that he was chosen because G-d knew their family could handle such a difficult challenge and do something to help all the other kids with this disease. With this explanation, Jonathan said that he was happy that we got chosen and the family knew it to be true. They decided to raise money to find a cure for their son and for all FD/MAS patients like him.

Through letter writing and email requests, the Rozenblums inspired donations from all over the globe, including gifts from Germany, Australia, and Israel. They quickly became Team FD’s top fundraisers for 2018, raising over $70,000. “This is only the beginning,” said Ziv. “We need to keep fighting for Jonathan. We hope that many more families like ours will join Team FD next year.”