Israeli girl undergoes innovative cancer treatment amid pandemic

Sabin Harintov, a 4-year-old girl who has stage 4 neuroblastoma, , has been undergoing innovative and expensive treatments in New York that has given her hope to lead a healthy life.

Four-year old Sabin while on a private flight to receive innovative cancer treatment in New York.  (photo credit: ISRAEL KASEM)
Four-year old Sabin while on a private flight to receive innovative cancer treatment in New York.
(photo credit: ISRAEL KASEM)
Sabin Harintov, a 4-year-old girl who has stage four neuroblastoma, a cancer often found in the small glands on top of the kidneys, has been undergoing innovative and expensive treatments in New York that has given her hope to lead a healthy life.
After being diagnosed two years ago with the aggressive cancer, Sabin was hospitalized and treated in the children's wing of Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer.
Following word of the innovative treatment by the hospital, Rachashei Lev, an organization devoted to supporting sick Israeli children, ensured that Sabin got to New York to begin treatment despite the complex logistics of traveling amid the coronavirus pandemic. 
Shimi Gesheid, CEO of Rachashei Lev, remarked on the difficulties involved in ensuring that Sabin receives the potentially life-saving treatment abroad, saying that "when the doctors and Sabin's parents contacted us for help, we knew we were embarking on a complex race-around-the-clock operation to bring Sabine in time for the treatment that was the last chance to save her life. We did not speculate on how the coronavirus would make her case more complicated and more difficult."
He added that "we made sure to fly privately despite the closure, so that Sabine would not be exposed to the coronavirus, and that she could safely arrive and start treatment. All this, in addition to accommodations and food arrangements for Sabin and her family, and for arranging a volunteer to aid and play games with Sabin in-between treatments.