A Child Dies;
Another Presses On

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PHIL JACOBS EDITOR

L

ast June, some 8,000 De-
troiters joined thousands
and thousands of others
around the world in an at-
tempt to save the life of two little
children.
Lauren Cohn, 4, of Hunting-
ton Woods and Coby Levi, 3, of
Teaneck, N.J., needed life-saving
bone marrow transplants.
Months and months have
passed since the Match For Life
program, for a day, turned the
Rock Financial building on Tele-
graph Road from a mortgage in-
stitution into a massive
blood-testing station and hu-
manitarian effort.
Both children received match-
es, not necessarily from the De-
troit effort, but from drives
around the world. Lauren Cohn
is recovering and regaining her
health due to the transplant.
Coby Levi passed away earlier in
the month at Children's Hospi-
tal of Wisconsin.
The shock of Coby's death re-
mains too fresh to believe for his

Coby Levi:"He had no fear."

parents, family members and
even for the community of Tea-
neck, where civic organizations
such as the police and fire de-
partments did what they could to
raise money for Coby.
The child's death also had a
huge impact in the Detroit area,
where Coby has grandparents,
uncles, aunts, cousins and
friends.
"He was always so very spe-
cial, so very good," said his grand-
father, Benno Levi, an Oak Park
resident. "It's uncanny. He had
no anxiety. He had no fear. He
was surrounded by love. He told
his parents, 'Mommy, Daddy,
don't be sad, be happy.' Pwo
hours later, he died."
"It's still very difficult, painful
and fresh," said Cobs mom, Sal-
lie. "A very big wound. He was
a very special kid, an unusually
special kid. It's been very difficult
for us. We're all still numb."
Coby had a perfect match
transplant donor, but he died of
complications.

He is survived by his parents,
Ernie and Sallie; a brother, Arieh,
5, and a sister, Amalya, 1.
At Gary and Kathy Cohn's
Huntington Woods' home, the
feeling is one of caution.
"It's still a day-to-day exis-
tence," said Mr. Cohn. "Lauren's
certainly in remission. Her im-
mune system is new and build-
ing. You get through every day
until you can look many years be-
hind you, event free. The interim
period between now and then is
still an uncertain time.
"You ultimately don't want to
revisit chemotherapy or have/to
do another transplant. There are
always risks. We've learned that
just when things are going well,
the tide can turn quickly."
Lauren had her transplant last
October in Seattle.
"Every day is a good day," said
her dad. "I've learned to put
everything in front of me. We've
been educated about the process.
You just continue to have hope
and patience." ❑

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