While everyone affectionately knows Philadelphia as the City of Brotherly Love, Astoria might borrow that title for a little while after the actions of one heroic 13-year-old boy.
For the last two years, Edwin Caban has watched his sister Amanda suffer from multiple sclerosis (MS), and this year he decided he was going to do something special, for her, and he raised $500 to help fight the disease.
“I wanted to raise money to help find a cure for not only my sister, but also for the millions of people who have that disease,” Edwin said.
Doctors diagnosed Edwin’s sister, Amanda Caban, 19, with MS nearly two years ago after she began suffering symptoms that included numbness in her left hand. Every hour in the United States, someone is diagnosed with MS, a disorder that interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and it stops people from moving.
In February, Edwin approached P.S. 122 Mamie Fay School principal Pamela Sabel and asked her if he could organize a bake sale at the school in order to raise money for the Walk MS 2009 that took place this past weekend.
“He reminded me that his sister is afflicted with MS, and he really loved her so much he wanted to do something to combat MS,” said Sabel.
Sabel thought it was a good idea and asked Edwin to submit a proposal with specifics about what he wanted to do.
“I can’t stand seeing my sister suffer for another year,” Edwin wrote in his proposal. “I need the school to help raise as much money as we can.”
After receiving approval from his principal, Edwin solicited the help of some teachers and the school’s student council to help man the tables, and the bake sale was a big hit – raising $500 for MS.
“It made me feel great because I thought I was not going to receive close to $500,” Edwin said.
Amanda, a sophomore at St. John’s University, helped work one of the tables at the bake sale, and the turnout and support of the students, faculty and parents impressed her. However, her brother’s ambition and selflessness really struck her.
“I was proud and touched that he would go through such expense for me,” Amanda said.
Edwin donated the $500 to the “Wednesday Warriors,” a team organized by one of the Caban family’s friends, who also has MS. The team, along with Edwin and Amanda and nearly 6,000 other participants, walked six miles over the weekend as part of the Walk MS 2009, which was expected to raise $2.7 million to support the New York City Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
“It made me feel good about helping to find a cure and walking for my sister so she knows that my family and I have support for her,” Edwin said.
Donations can be made until May at www.walkMSnyc.org
