It started with a tummy ache last spring.  Then eleven-year-old Hannah Max’s hips hurt and the hurt didn’t go away.  Her parents, St. Louis native Randy Max and his British wife Rachel Browne, who play in the Rotterdam Philharmonic in the Netherlands, took Hannah in for tests.  The tests led to scans, which revealed every parent’s worst nightmare:  Hannah was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma cancer.  Now the race is on to save Hannah’s life.  

Neuroblastoma is a pediatric cancer that originates in the sympathetic nervous system and annually affects 600-700 children in the US alone.  Neuroblastoma accounts for 15 percent of all pediatric cancer deaths. 

Hannah’s grandmother, Carol Max, of St. Louis, and a member of Traditional Congregation, describes how Hannah deals with the daunting series of chemo and stem cell procedures and the surgeries to remove the tumors:  “Hannah is full of spunk.  She returned to school right out of the hospital—even her treatments don’t slow her down very much.  She loves horses and sushi—she taught herself to make sushi and makes the rolls from cucumber instead of raw fish because of her chemo.”  When Carol visits her granddaughter in Rotterdam she is with her every minute.  “Where she goes—I go,” says Carol. 

Hannah’s father, Randy, graduated from Parkway Central High School. Randy went on to graduate from St. Louis Conservatory of Music and earn his Masters from Julliard.  

Hannah, who turned twelve on January 9, 2010, loves to play cards and Monopoly.  Her uncle says that “there are times when she seems older than her 12 years, but when you see the teasing glimmer in her crystal blue eyes, you know that you have been had by the surprisingly dry humor of a 12 year old.” 

Carol plans to be at Hannah’s side on March 1^st when she begins treatment at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) neuroblastoma research program, headed by leading researcher Dr. John Maris.   The cost is enormous:  $400,000.  The Max family’s insurance will not cover the cost of the procedure, and the hospital is requiring that the full cost be paid by March 1^st. 

We have been given the opportunity to perform an incredible mitzvah—helping to save a child’s life.  If you would like to help Hannah receive her treatment at CHOP, please send your donation check payable to:     

"Hannah Max Benefit Trust Fund"               

Mail to:  Attn:  Michelle Eldridge,  Southwest Bank, 12452 Olive Blvd,  St Louis MO 63141