essay

Sophie’s
Smile

Spirited teen pedal pushes
to help medically eligible
kids realize dreams.

Brooklyn, Mich.

J

ust 13 and battling an inher- the hundreds of riders who have
ited genetic disorder, Sophie raised money to help kids just
like me,” the precocious teenager
Blumberg flashed her signa-
said. “However, I wanted to help
ture smile while dashing to the
kids and their families in need. I
stage to accept top junior fund-
wanted to do more.”
raiser honors on Make-A-Wish
And she did.
Michigan’s summer bicycle tour.
Registered in the WAM Jr. held
The benefit tour, dubbed
July 30, Sophie raised
Wish-A-Mile (WAM),
$4,347 toward Team
is the Brighton-based
Alex’s 2017 fundrais-
organization’s major fun-
ing total of more than
draiser.
$400,000. Statewide,
“It was a thrill to go
WAM drew 1,000 reg-
up on stage, receive the
istrants and generated
star-shaped trophy and
$2.4 million. Since 1984,
get so many high fives
Make-A-Wish Michigan
from the WAM volun-
Robert Sklar
has
granted 8,500
teers,” Sophie, daughter
Contributing Editor
wishes.
of Mindy and Loren
Team Alex
Blumberg of Farmington
(teamalexrides.org) is
Hills, told the JN. “All I
named for Alexandra
could think about was
“Alex” Graham, the coura-
achieving my goal and the other
kids who would benefit from the geous daughter of Susie and Bill
Graham of West Bloomfield.
money I was able to raise.”
Alex died in January 1999 from
Make-A-Wish is a national
Osteogenic Sarcoma, a child-
charitable agency that grants
hood bone cancer, following a
wishes to qualifying children
13-month fight that included
(affectionately Wish Heroes)
chemotherapy, a leg amputation
with life-threatening medical
and lung surgery.
conditions. A wish not only is
WAM 2017 featured a 300-
something to anticipate with
mile, three-day course July
excitement, but also represents
a special opportunity for families 28-30 beginning in Traverse
City on Lake Michigan and a
with a pediatric challenge.
50-mile, one-day route on July 30
Sophie became a bat mitzvah
through the Irish Hills, west of
in February at Temple Israel in
Chelsea. Both treks passed the
West Bloomfield. For six years,
silent mile just before the finish
she has been among the Wish
line at Michigan International
Heroes for Oakland County-
Speedway, near Brooklyn.
based Team Alex, the WAM
Silent mile placards in the
tour’s largest organized entrant
grass remembered fallen Wish
and leading fundraiser.
Heroes and WAM ambassa-
“Being a Wish Hero has
allowed me to support and thank dors, including Alex Graham

and another Team Alex legend,
Jeffrey Surnow, killed in a bicycle
accident in Hawaii in 2015.
Taking part in her third WAM
Jr., Sophie chose to ride eight laps
on a volunteer-staffed, half-mile
oval near the WAM finish.

WISHFUL LEGACY

Over its 19 years of existence
remembering the uplifting legacy
of Alex Graham, Team Alex,
captained so earnestly by Beth
Brandvain of Farmington Hills,
has raised enough money to help
grant more than 400 wishes.
Make-A-Wish fulfilled Sophie’s
dream in April 2016. She and her
parents, along with loving older
sister Alena, then 15, met the
cast of the Disney Channel TV
show, Girl Meets World.
Sophie’s long red hair, big
brown eyes, upbeat demeanor
and ready smile belie her battle
against Familial Dysautonomia,
which affects the development
and function of nerves through-
out the body.
In the past two years, Sophie
has logged fewer hospital visits,
denoting a slight improvement
health-wise. Still, physical thera-
py at home includes keeping her
lungs clear, her eyes moist and
her breathing steady. Awareness
must be keen to minimize the
risk of injury given her reduced
sensitivity to pain.
An incoming eighth-grader
at Warner Middle School in
Farmington Hills, Sophie is
thankful to Make-A-Wish for
bringing “so much happiness to
me and my family.”

PHOTOS BY MINDY BLUMBERG

RIGHT: Sophie is all
smiles after riding in the
WAM Jr. on her specially
fitted Trek bike.
LEFT: Sophie and her
father, Loren, enjoy
time together at WAM’s
Heroes Hurrah.

Therein lies the essence of
Make-A-Wish: to supplement a
Wish family’s medical experience
with emotional support that typ-
ically elevates spirits unimagin-
ably within the context of reality.
Underscoring the role Make-A-
Wish can play, Mindy Blumberg
recalls that “when we found out
Sophie’s wish to meet the cast
of Girl Meets World was granted,
this can-do kind of kid hit a
whole new level. And it spread
throughout the family quickly.”

Sophie’s father rode in his fifth
WAM 300. He was awestruck
watching Sophie beam on stage
at WAMmy Awards Night at
DeWitt High School, outside
Lansing, the second night of the
300-mile trek.
“Sophie has been through so
much in such a short period of
time,” Loren recounted a week
later. “As the parent of a Wish
Hero, I live it every day. As a
rider, I can almost touch the
impact my fundraising efforts
will have on other kids.”

EVER EXUBERANT

Sophie learned to cycle in sum-
mer 2014, thanks to Friendship
Circle’s hosting an iCan Bike
class at West Bloomfield High
School. The weeklong class uti-
lized special bikes to help kids
with disabilities learn balance
and technique.
“Sophie was extremely deter-
mined and went from training
wheels to riding a two-wheeler
in just three days, something she
was very proud of,” Mindy said.
At the Heroes Hurrah out-
side Michigan International
Speedway, Sophie joined other
Wish Heroes in serving up med-
als and hugs for each of their
team riders taking part in WAM.
Sophie posed patiently for each
photo her adult teammates
sought, relishing the love of her
“extended family.” Team Alex’s
130 riders each received wrist-
bands with the names of Alex
and Team Alex’s three current
Wish Heroes as well as a multi-
colored string bracelet created by
Sophie and her mom.

jn

SMILE POWER

Alex Graham’s legacy proved
monumental for the Blumbergs.
Alex’s wish before she died at
age 17 in her senior year at West
Bloomfield High School was a
public service announcement. In
the unique wish, Alex and nine
other kids with cancer ask other
kids to smile at them, not stare,
because, as Alex puts it, “we’ve
had enough hurt in our lives
already.”
Clearly, Sophie shares Alex’s
wish. For example, she’s learning
to be a Temple Israel madrichim
(or guide) qualified to help stu-
dents, teachers and the larger
temple community once she
enters high school.
As Loren tells it, “Despite the
difficulties she faces daily, Sophie
remains positive, rising up to
meet every challenge — and she
does so with a smile.
“I was so proud of her in that
moment on stage. I was remind-
ed of just how much she inspires
me every day.” •

August 17 • 2017

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