A Shining Light in River Edge Goes Out

A smiling light in River Edge went out earlier this week as Emma Rabinowitz, 6, died after a courageous battle of Tay-Sachs.

Emma was born on May 17, 2004 and for the first several months developed normally reaching milestone after milestone. But by eight months, the milestones began to slow and she was later diagnosed with Tay-Sachs. Tay-Sachs is a genetic neurodegenerative disease that is always fatal in children. 

Because Tay-Sachs is a hereditary genetic disease, blood tests can be done to determine if someone is a carrier.Julie was tested prior to the birth of their first son Jake. A subsequent test after Emma's diagnosis revealed the results from the first test for Julie were incorrect.

At age 4, Emma donated her hair to Locks of Love as a way to say thank you to the River Edge community for its support. Because she was unable to speak, the River Edge community spoke for her instead.

Over the last few years, the students at Roosevelt and Cherry Hill schools and New Bridge Center took part in Trick-or-Treat for Tay-Sachs by bringing in their extra Halloween candy to be donated to a food shelter. Each class also collected coins that were donated to the Cure Tay-Sachs Foundation.

Emma is survived by her parents David and Julie and her brothers Jake and Zack Rabinowitz and grandparents Larry and Susan Scheps of Chardon, OH, Sheila Rabinowitz of Edison, and Allan Rabinowitz and his wife JoAnn of Freeport, NY.

Memorial donations may be made to Cure Tay-Sachs Foundation.