WESTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – A courageous young Hampshire County woman is helping to find a cure to a brain condition that’s afflicted her since birth.

Bella Sacharczyk of Westhampton led her fourth fundraising walk for the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation Saturday, on her 20th birthday.

Bella has undergone brain surgery 23 times since she was an infant to battle this incurable condition that has threatened her speech and ability to walk.

“I do this walk not for me probably won’t help me, but I’m doing it for the generation coming up,” Bella told 22News.

The money raised during Saturday’s walk will add to the thousands of dollars already donated to the Boston Children’s Hospital for Hydrocephalus research.

Bella is currently a biology student at Holyoke Community College. She plans on moving on to attend UMass.

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Brayden wanted to raise money for the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation to be used for research. He and his younger brother, Ashton, decided to sell water from their driveway. A close family friend saw them and felt sorry for them so they came over with some lemonade mix to add to the water. All the neighbors from their small cul-de-sac stopped and bought some. The boys ended up raising $12. They were thrilled.

Well, the lemonade stand turned into a much bigger deal, thanks to the outpouring of support from the community. With the help of the Washingtonville Community Events Team, Betty’s Country Kitchen, J. Hoffman Insurance, and Hudson Heritage Realty, Brayden’s Lemonade stand debuted at the Aug. 24 Date Night at Vern Allen Park. Brayden sold his lemonade for a $1 a cup and many visitors told him to keep the change. He in turn let them come back for refills. Brayden raised just under $650. Both the water and the lemonade mix were donated.

The stand was so popular, Brayden was invited to set up again at the upcoming Witchingtonville 2018 event at Vern Allen Park on Oct., 20, where thousands are expected to attend. Looks like Brayden’s going to need a bigger stand!

If you would like to donate to Brayden’s cause, attend the Oct. 20 Witchingtonville 2018 event at Vern Allen Park in Washingtonville or if you cannot attend you can mail your donation to Brayden Thew, 9 McNamara Dr., Campbell Hall 10916.

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Despite undergoing seven brain surgeries, Brayden is an active youngster, said his mom, Cassandra.

“He loves basketball,” Cassandra said “He plays soccer. He’s a cub scout. We are very, very fortunate because we have friends who have kids with Hydrocephalus that have severe disabilities, whether it is they can’t walk, they can’t talk. It’s kind of like a crap shoot with Hydrocephalus. You don’t what you are going to get because you don’t know how much damage is going to be done neurologically.”

Brayden has put a face on the pediatric disease. He has also found a way to raise money for research.

He has raised $650 with a lemonade stand in front of his house. His effort debuted at the August 24th Date Night at Vern Allen Park with help from the Washingtonville Community Events Team and a number of local businesses.

His popular beverage stand has been invited back to the park for “Witchingtonville 2018” on Saturday, October 20.

Brayden has two brothers, Evan, 7, and Ashton, 5. Cassandra and Greg are expecting.  A little sister will join the family in January.

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A beautiful summer night wouldn’t be complete without lemonade. And the Washingtonville community wouldn’t be itself unless it came out in droves to support a child’s stand.

On the Aug. 24 Date Night of this summer’s season, $642 was raised for the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation through Washingtonville resident Brayden Thew, who served regular and pink lemonade with all of the proceeds going to the foundation that helped save his life. “Brayden was diagnosed at 11 days old with hydrocephalus,” his mom Cassandra said, “an incurable brain condition, and had seven brain surgeries by the time he was five years old. The Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation had given us a tight community when we felt so alone and had become like family to us.” So when Brayden held a small lemonade stand on his road this summer and wanted to give the full $12 he had made to the foundation, his mom was floored — and thought about how to grow the idea.

Which is when the community immediately stepped in and the Washingtonville Community Events Team, Betty’s Country Kitchen, J. Hoffman Insurance, and Hudson Heritage Realty all worked to make this idea a reality by suggesting Brayden set up his stand at the last Date Night of the season at Vern Allen Park (and providing the resources to do so), where children and adults played and socialized, and even danced for prizes, as tunes were spun by Washingtonville’s own Jeffrey Blizard of That’s EnterTOONment until the outdoor movie, Despicable Me 3, was played and gallons of lemonade was enjoyed by everyone.

Congratulations to Brayden, his family, and the Washingtonville community for just being itself and supporting a child and a cause. For more information on hydrocephalus, go to http://www.HydrocephalusKids.org.

The closing Date Night of the season will be in September (date to be determined) as a rescheduling of the one evening in July that had been rained out.

CAPTION 1: Brayden Thew serves up the sweet stuff to a customer at last week’s Date Night in Washingtonville. (Photo by Eugenia Moskowitz)

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HORSEHEADS, N.Y. (18 NEWS) – Imagine having more surgeries than you are years old. That’s exactly what 19-year-old Isabella Sacharczyk has gone through, 23 times, in her brain.

“It’s very, very hard, to be honest with you, I didn’t let her sleep by herself until she was 16,” Denise Sacharczyk, Isabella’s mother, said. “I was scared to death that something would happen while she was sleeping.”

Hyrocephalus is the neurological condition Isabella was born with. It’s caused by too much fluid pressing on the brain. She has two medical devices, known as shunts, put into her brain, to drain excess fluids.

October will mark four years Isabella has been surgery free.

“It feels great, because I went a good six years with at least having one surgery a year, and as a little seventh grader, I missed three months of school that year,” Isabella Sacharczyk, said.

Today also marks four years of fundraising for “Bella’s Journey”. Isabella and some of her family flew from their home state, Massachusetts, to fundraise here, in Horseheads, where most of her family resides.

This annual “Bella’s Journey” event is a fundraiser for education and research for Hydrocephalus.

A 60 miles motorcycle ride is the newest addition to this annual event.

“A lot of motorcycles get together for a lot of charity rides like this because there are so many negative things in the world being said about motorcyclists and I think it’s a good thing that all these people, a nice group of people are getting together and doing a charity ride for a common cause,” Olavs Ozolins, road captain at the Finger Lakes New York H.O.G. group, said.

“Just the love of children, you know, whatever we can do to help is great,” Hazel Hall, a member of the Finger Lakes New York H.O.G. group, said. “As we’re out riding, it seems like everybody waves at us, toots at us, you know, it makes us feel real welcomed.”

Isabella is now studying for her doctorates to become a medical researcher.

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