She’s constructing some good on the planet.
A Lengthy Island teen most cancers survivor is delivering some pleasure and constructive power to youngsters preventing comparable sicknesses with a Lego drive with lots of of donated toys.
“Some days, it was hard just to sit up. Playing with Lego motivated me to actually do something throughout the day,” Lido Seashore resident Reese Gallinaro,16, stated of her two fights with Leukemia. “Such a big part of treatment is getting up instead of lying in bed all day — there’s just not many things that are motivating, but Lego was one of them.”
Gallinaro was handled at Memorial Sloan Kettering the primary time when she was simply 4 years outdated, after which once more throughout an unlucky relapse from when she was 9 till 11.
“It really became an escape for her the second time,” Reese’s mom, Joanna Gallinaro, 43, stated. “If she would say something like ‘my arm hurts,’ I would just hand her another bag.”
The second stint concerned far more aggressive remedy that fatigued the younger fighter considerably greater than the earlier bout. On high of that, she needed to miss almost her whole fourth-grade 12 months whereas at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
“I was immunocompromised so I was in isolation a lot, my friends were really just my nurses and family. So I needed to keep myself occupied a lot,” Gallinaro stated. “I must have built at least 50 sets. I love ‘Harry Potter,’ so I would put on one of the movies as I built my big Hogwarts Castle. It made such a difference for me.”
Now, as a highschool junior who has been cancer-free for shut to 6 years, she needs to pay it ahead.
On the finish of 2024, Gallinaro organized a Lego drive for Memorial Sloan Kettering’s youngsters, which is being collected in any respect Lengthy Seashore faculties, Metropolis Corridor and the close by Vivid Eye Beer Co.
“After I was finally able to comprehend that I’m safe, the first thing I thought about was all the other kids in the hospital,” Gallinaro, who has helped increase hundreds previously for most cancers, informed The Publish.
“Then I really started thinking about, ‘well, what can I personally do?’ I knew it had to be something with Lego. It can change the fight for so many kids.’”
Up to now, lots of of locals have contributed, and resulting from excessive demand, her household pushed again the deadline.
“I know this is a very tight community, but the results even shocked me,” stated Gallinaro, whose house is presently crammed to the brim with donations.
Specifically, she is most enthusiastic about giving the kids Lego flower bouquets to brighten up their hospital rooms.
“It’s coming from outside Long Beach, too, we’re getting donations from all over. This is so heartwarming to see.”
In the meantime, Lego is even personally doing issues for Gallinaro as a younger grownup.
“Playing with them has made me want to become an architect,” she stated. “I’ll always have a strong connection to Lego.”
Gallinaro’s assortment ends on Saturday, Feb. 8, and may be purchased on-line by Amazon as properly.
