Ruby's Rally Story

Ruby Kaufman, a fifteen-year-old sophomore at The Galloway School, enjoys writing, exploring the world and its cultures, riding roller coasters, and reading books that make her think. But above all, she is passionate about dance. As a three-year-old, Ruby twirled and curtsied across the floor of Stagedoor Studios, where she still dances to this day. It wasn’t the intricate costumes or even the hard-earned performances that have literally kept Ruby on the tip of her toes for over a decade, it is the freedom and liberation she feels while she dances. The adrenaline that floods her body paired with the release Ruby feels when she’s on stage is unbeatable. However, not long ago, Ruby wasn’t this free.

In early 2015, Ruby began to experience splitting headaches. Her pediatrician was confident that she was just having an allergic reaction, as the day she went in for a check-up happened to have the highest pollen count of the year. Ruby took medication and tried to use a neti pot, but despite her efforts, nothing made her feel any better. This persistent pain drove her to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, who examined her and then asked her to return for an MRI the following day. The scan showed that Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, had taken over Ruby’s sinuses. There are only 350 cases of Rhabdomyosarcoma each year in the United States, giving Ruby a 0.000107033639% chance of contracting this invasive disease. Because this form of cancer is so rare, the closest city to Atlanta that had proton radiation, the type of radiation that Ruby needed, was Jacksonville, Florida. Relocating to Jacksonville meant that Ruby would miss her dance performances and her fifth grade trip to Costa Rica. Dancing and traveling are the things Ruby loves most in the world, and to miss them both felt like a loss. However, with continued treatments and over two hundred nights spent in the hospital, Ruby went into remission in March of 2016. For a little over a year, Ruby’s parents and sister were terrified and constantly separated, but now they could be a family again.

Ruby still focuses a lot of her energy on dancing and traveling, as she’s been to Italy, France, England, Spain, and Brazil, but a new addition to her growing list of passions is a non-profit located in Sandy Springs called Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. Since 2016, Ruby has raised $130,000 for Rally, as she serves as one of the organization’s fundraisers and poster children. Ruby feels so lucky that she’s in remission and is able to advocate for and help to fund childhood cancer research. Her battle with cancer has made her view the world and the people who inhabit it completely differently, and helping others makes her feel almost as free as when she has tap shoes on.

Ruby is starting a Rally club at Galloway! She’s passed out plastic bags to all advisories for everyone to take home and fill with their loose change. Bring your money-filled bag back to your advisor on October 1st to help Ruby help others. Maybe it will make you feel free too.

By Rose Sanders