For the second year in a row, Jessica Lichtenfeld and her third-grade class at Beiriger Elementary school in Griffith, IN have read the book, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. “Sadako” tells the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young survivor who folds 1000 origami cranes, hoping to heal from leukemia. This inspiring story teaches valuable lessons of hope and perseverance, and the strength of the human spirit.
Beyond reading the novel, the children put the lessons learned from Sadako into action. Over the past several months, Ms. Lichtenfeld and her class persevered for many hours taking on the task of personally making 1000 origami cranes. Their goal was to complete this mission and donate the cranes to the patients of Northwest Cancer Centers as a gift of hope and a wish of good fortune. They reached this goal the final week of May, with only a few weeks of the school year remaining. They met with Mike Ziegler, Director of Community Relations at Northwest Cancer Centers, told him of the lessons they learned, and shared with him the art of making origami cranes. At the end of his visit, the students sent Ziegler off with over 1000 paper cranes.
On Tuesday, June 3rd, Ziegler came to the clinic at 7:30am before most patients and staff members arrived. He placed the students’ gifts on the patient’s treatment chairs and throughout the nurse’s station. For the second year, he was not the first person in the clinic like he had hoped. He was met by Megan Henderson, RN and a few patients who were receiving early morning treatments.
One of the early morning patients was Linda Felty. Linda is a 5-year survivor of MDS, a rare form of cancer which impacts blood stem cells. She has been on nearly continuous treatment since 2021. Linda was at an early morning appointment last May when the cranes arrived and was the first patient to receive the children’s gift of hope. Now, as fate would have it, or perhaps a bit of divine intervention, here she was again one year later! With a big smile on her face, Linda said, “The kids work so hard, and it is so appreciated. I’ll be excited to receive my crane next year!” Linda thanked the students for her new annual tradition.
As 3rd grader Lucas Diaz said, "The best part (of this project) was learning how Sadako never gave up and she always kept hope." Lucas Diaz. Linda and Pamela are living proof that Lucas' words ring true.
Ms. Lichtenfeld reflected, "The lessons learned from Sadako and trying something new will be memorable for years to come. I hope my students can see that something so small can be so meaningful to others." As he squeezed her hand, Pam’s partner Andy echoed Ms. Lichtenfeld's comments on how an act of kindness can go a long way, “It’s things like this in life that remind us that even when things are tough, we can stop and smell the roses.”