At age 11, my life turned upside down, with a CRPS diagnosis that causes severe nerve,driven pain.
Maayan Ben Harav, once treated at ALYN, gave a powerful and moving speech at the 2025 Wheels of Love closing ceremony.
Here is her story in her own words:
"Hi everyone, my name is Ma’ayan, and I’m 14 years old.
I’ve always been an active person , I love to dance, to laugh with my friends, and to just move. I never thought that one day, something could take that all away from me.
When I was 11, everything changed.
I was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or CRPS.
It’s a condition where your nerves send pain signals to your brain even when nothing’s wrong.
For me, the pain was in my foot, and it was constant : burning, sharp, and unbearable. Even a light touch felt like fire.
One day I was dancing, and the next, I couldn’t even walk.
I went through months of treatments - hospitals, therapies, medicine - trying to get better. For eight months, I hoped every day for a little bit of relief. But instead, it often felt like the world was moving on without me.
Then my family found ALYN Hospital , and that’s when my story began to change.
From the first day, I felt something different. Everyone there - the doctors, therapists, nurses - they didn’t just treat my pain. They treated me.
They looked past the wheelchair, past the fear, and saw the girl who wanted her life back.
At ALYN, I learned to fight again.
I learned that healing doesn’t happen in one big moment , it happens in tiny steps, over and over, even on the hard days.
Some days I cried, some days I wanted to give up. But the amazing people at ALYN never gave up on me.
And after a year of treatment, therapy, and a lot of hard work, my foot fully recovered.
I could walk again.
I could dance again.
And for the first time in so long… I felt free.
But leaving ALYN wasn’t easy. It had become my home, a place where I felt safe, strong, and understood. On my very last day, my physical therapist told me about ‘The swift and the bold’ – a bike, riding group for ‘graduates’ of ALYN, and she said, “You should try it.”
At first, I was scared. I thought, “What if the pain comes back?”
But I gave it a chance and that’s when I discovered something amazing.
When I ride my bike, I feel free again.
The wind on my face, the road beneath my wheels, it’s like all the pain, all the hard days, disappear.
I love the people I ride with, they’re supportive, funny, and full of energy. When we ride together, I feel like I belong.
Biking gave me something I thought I had lost independence.
It’s not just about moving my body, it’s about moving forward.
That’s what ALYN gave me, not just my recovery, but my freedom.
And today, I want to take a moment to say a huge thank you to ALYN, for believing in me when I couldn’t believe in myself,
to all the riders, of the group and all of you who are sharing this journey with me and inspiring me every single day,
and most of all, to everyone who donated to support ALYN.
You may not see the faces of all the kids you help, but please know, your kindness changes everything.
Because of you, children like me get the chance to heal, to laugh, to move, and to dream again.
Your donations don’t just buy equipment or therapy sessions, they give kids hope, strength, and a future.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for giving me my life back,
and for giving so many others the same chance.
Because of ALYN, and because of all of you, I’m not the girl who lost everything anymore.
I’m the girl who got back up and now, I’m riding forward.
Thank you !