KBTV

Christmas Miracles! Maggie's Story ...

I’ve always believed that deep down everyone wants to do something to help someone else to make an impact on the world that’s larger than themselves. I think that feeling kicks into overdrive during the holiday season as you hear dozens of stories about people reaching out to help those in need. Maybe that’s because, like the bright holiday lights that dot the nation this time of year symbolizing hope and life in the dead of winter, everyone wants to believe in miracles. When you have enough faith the unexpected can happen.

For Christmas week I'll be sharing the stories of two girls, 9-year-old Maggie Schoenfeld and a 21-year-old Nicole Bennet. Both are facing crushing personal circumstances, yet through it all, finding something that every looks for, especially this time of year: HOPE. These stories are about tears and triumph, pain and love, heartache and healing and most of all FAITH. Though these girls barely know each other, their stories are intertwined and they both begin – as all miracles do – with a haunting challenge.

Anyone who knows Maggie Schoenfeld will tell you that she’s a “feisty girl” with a personality to match her bright smile. When doctors told her parents that the 9-year-old had an aggressive case of leukemia their worlds turned upside down. What followed in the months after her diagnosis were long trips to Miami Children’s Hospital, dozens of chemotherapy treatments and hours of waiting and praying for Maggie to get better.

Tests revealed that Maggie had 440,000 white blood cells in her body, which, doctors said, is virtually unheard of. A normal count is between 5,000 and 10,000.

The prognosis was unclear and the treatment long but the family pulled together to take things day by day. Maggie’s next big challenge is a bone marrow transplant from her brother scheduled early next year. In their pain, however, the Schoenfelds have found overwhelming support as hundreds of their neighbors in Boynton Beach, many whom don’t even know the Schoenfelds, have rallied around Maggie. They’ve raised thousands of dollars, donated blood and been there to talk when the family needed it most.

Since Maggie was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in September, the Boynton Beach Police Department has collected more than $30,000 for the family through fundraisers where they’ve shaved their heads, served food and even posed for a pinup calendar.

Employees at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, where Maggie's mother works as a neonatal nurse, have chipped in more than 400 vacation hours so she could be at her daughter's side.

The community has gotten involved, too. During a fundraiser a few weeks ago, Panera Bread in Boynton Beach donated half of its sales for the day to Maggie. About 2,000 people stopped by during the daylong event that featured music, baking classes, a car show and Maggie, who was well enough to make an appearance.

It was during this event at Panera Bread where 21-year-old Nicole Bennet and her mother Brenda met Maggie. The two decided to sign up for baking classes during the event that would help raise money for Maggie. They didn’t know it at the time, but their act of reaching out to help Maggie would in turn help Nicole, who suffered serious brain injuries after a car accident just days after her 16th birthday.

Maggie still has many long days ahead. After her bone marrow transplant she’ll have to fight the risk of infection or the slight chance that her body rejects her brother’s cells or that the cancer comes back, but she won’t be facing it alone. And for the family, the quiet shock has become a deafening roar of support.

To learn more about how to help Maggie…whether it’s sending her a card or attending a fundraiser…contact Stephanie Slater with the Boynton Beach Police Department…at 561-742-6191.

How to Help
Send donations to: Stephanie Slater, Boynton Beach Police Department, 100 E. Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach, FL 33435.

Make checks payable to Margaret Alyson Schoenfeld.

Write to Maggie: Go to carepages.com and click on "visit." Create an account, search "maggieschoenfeld" to pull up her page and leave a message.

posted by Jason Parsley @ 8:50 PM