What do you do when personal disaster strikes: when you go to the doctor and feel your world collapse as you hear, “your child has a life-threatening illness?”  Most parents say that they don’t remember much about that first diagnosis appointment; their brain goes into survival mode and all that matters is making sure their child is healthy again. Questions begin swirling through their already dizzying thoughts to get through the next few hours, let alone the next few years of appointments. 

“How do I keep track of everything that needs to be done? Where do I go?   How do I choose the right treatment? The right doctor?  Most importantly, how do I keep my own life moving forward even though my world has stopped?”

My first phone call would be to Alyssa Wiesel, my local-Los Angeles heroine.  Alyssa is a married-mother of 2 (her children are both under the age of 3).  She works for ChaiLifeline (a non-profit organization that aides Jewish families whose children have life-threatening illnesses), running art therapy sessions for the families and counseling them through their most difficult times.  But it is not because Alyssa works for such a worthy cause that makes her my heroine. 

She puts her all, 150%, into helping others, whether it is through ChaiLifeline or in her everyday life.  Alyssa is not only a fulltime wife and mother but she makes herself available to her clients 24/7 and assists in the general Pico/Robertson community, fundraising as well as making sure others who are ill are cared for.Alyssa takes those under her wing who need an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on.  She has the ability to make an instant connection with people of all ages whether it be face-to-face or on the phone and she has a maturity about her that is beyond her 27 years. 

Her calming voice is like grandma’s homemade chicken soup (the Jewish remedy for any ailment) and when she drops everything at a moment’s notice to run to the hospital for newly admitted patients it is that voice that reassures the families.  It is her smile that welcomes people into her life.  It is her patience that allows those in need to open up and accept help.

 
Her honesty, sincere words, and heartfelt devotion make her someone worthwhile to be honored as Los Angeles’s local heroine.