�I can’t concentrate in class because at the end of the period I�m leaving to get my infusion and I�m petrified. I wish I could talk to my friends about it, but they could never relate.�

�Every time I raise my hand in class, it looses circulation and my fingers are freezing cold for the next few hours. My classmates have no idea.�

�I have to prick myself every few hours to check my sugar levels. My classmates freak out and say all the wrong things.�

There are many girls in every high school who may appear completely typical on the outside but who are privately dealing with a non-life-threatening medical condition. You may never know why the girl sitting next to you is always missing class, why a classmate gets excused from gym, or why your best friend can’t eat certain things. Most people think that when someone is sick, they look sick. In reality, 96% of chronic illnesses are actually invisible.

MyTEAM is a frum organization that provides peer support to high school and post seminary girls who are dealing with any non-life-threatening medical condition. Currently MyTEAM is helping frum girls across the country with conditions including crohn�s, colitis, lyme, diabetes, chronic pain, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, respiratory disease, etc. In addition, they also support girls going through a medical procedure such as surgery to remove a benign tumor or their gall bladder. They also work with girls who are dealing with various symptoms but do not yet have a firm diagnosis. Sometimes that stage can last years, and can be the most isolating.

MyTEAM confidentially matches up �teammates� for one-on-one peer support. A teammate is a peer who is going through a similar medical challenge. In addition, each girl is paired with a mentor, an older girl or young-married who has also experienced a medical challenge, to offer support, perspective, and guidance. MyTEAM also arranges monthly teleconferences by renowned Rabbonim, social workers, and mechanchos who each offer a unique angle in providing chizuk, coping skills, and perspective to the teammates and mentors.

MyTEAMS’s director/social worker performs an intake with the parents of each prospective teammate, and a coordinator speaks with the girl herself to better understand her needs. MyTEAM then matches each girl with a peer of similar age, personality, and hashkafa who is dealing with a similar medical challenge. MyTEAM also puts each girl in touch with a mentor who has gone through a similar condition. They typically speak with their teammate and mentor over the phone once a week. Through their shared experiences, the girls are able to connect with their teammates and mentors, and provide each other with much needed support.

�I was paired up with a �teammate,� a girl about my age who has the same condition as me, and we speak on the phone on a weekly basis. I look forward to our conversations when I can be authentic and discuss the challenges I am experiencing in a way that I have never felt comfortable doing with the �healthy� people in my life. I hang up feeling so normal, understood, and really supported because I just finished talking to someone who ‘gets it.’ Even though my teammate did not necessarily experience the exact difficulties I�ve had that week, she�s likely to have been there before and knows exactly what I am talking about.�

MyTEAM cheers on frum girls who are dealing with an �invisible illness’, and helps them feel supported, validated, and part of a team, all fighting together.

Please reach out if you or anyone you know can benefit from this unique organization.

For more information, visit us at: myteamcares.co

Or contact us at: 347-766-7306 or [email protected]