#RachelStrong 06/18/2020

Welcome to Rachel's 16th Birthday Newsletter! This special edition will share memories of Rachel from her closest friends and family. After reading, please help us flood social media (facebook, instagram, snapchat, etc.) with pics of you with Rach and messages to continue fighting for a cure for pediatric cancer. Like, comment, and share all day long to help spread the message!! Let's all use the same slogan on our pics today:

#RACHELSTRONG

#Rachelsfightisourfight!

We miss you, Rachel

**The Dunn Family and Anthony Antorino**

It's hard to pinpoint just one thing that I'll miss most about Rachel, but for me, I would say it would have to be her bubbling optimism. She had a certain energy to her that would always manage to fill whatever room she stepped into. There was something about her smile that would instantly make you happy just by seeing it. Even in her darkest and hardest days, she kept her head up and pushed through. She was brave and strong and never stopped fighting until the end. She cared a lot about everyone and ceaselessly wanted to make sure that the people around her were okay, which perhaps is what made her such an amazing cousin, sister, daughter, and friend.

I have so many amazing memories with Rachel that I wouldn't trade for a single thing in the entire world; baking, swimming, skiing, dancing, laughing, and most importantly, just having fun. I know if Rachel was here with us today, she would've had the best sweet 16 party a person could possibly have; full of dancing, singing, and everyone having fun.

Love you forever Rachel and miss you always!!!

<3 <3 <3

One of my favorite memories was meeting Rachel for the first time in our court, and instantly becoming best friends. We would play huge wiffleball tournaments with our families, and always make sure our team won. We would race with scooters and ride our bikes. We would make up dance routines and make our moms watch our performances. We dressed up in crazy costumes and always put on huge performances. We hosted a bake sale and kept all the money for ourselves. We would spend the entire day and night with each other. Then we would get a huge pizza and eat outside with our families. We made snow cones in my kitchen. We would beg our moms to let us have a sleepover and we would always win. We would play Just Dance until we were exhausted. Days with Rachel were the best.

Rachel and I were like sisters and not just friends. She was crazy , funny and kind and I treasure every minute I got to spend with her. She is a part of my childhood memories and a part of me. I'm a better person for having her a part of my world for any amount of time. I think of Rachel and sometimes I can laugh about all the silly things we did. I miss her so much and will remember her always. She was my true once in a lifetime best friend.

Brooke Fishman

It all started when I was four years old at the JCC summer camp. Rachel with her curls and glasses instantly stole a special place in my heart. I came home on the very first day to tell my family about my new friend, from that moment on the friendship only grew stronger. Rachel was the secret keeper, the giggler, the life of the party and someone I called my best friend. When Rachel was diagnosed with cancer, she never had a pity party, never stopped laughing, loved uber eats and never let the fun end. She taught us so many lessons along her journey, dance like no one's watching, live life to the fullest and always be a loyal friend. It’s hard knowing Rachel is no longer here but I know she's that special angel always looking over us.

Abby Schwartz

I will never forget my cupcake making adventure with Rachel.

She swore she was a great baker. We decided to get fancy, and make cupcakes in ice cream cones. If anyone knows me, I am a perfectionist. I was completely focused on every detail, and I barely even spoke. All that mattered to me was that my cupcakes turned out looking exactly like the picture on the website. But not Rachel. The mixing spoon was her microphone, the kitchen was her dance floor, and she really couldn’t care less if we needed one egg or two. She had cake mix all over her hands, all over the floor, on her shirt, and even managed to get some on her nose. I'm sure that was intentional.

My cupcakes did come out perfect. And with all due respect, hers were the ugliest things I’d ever seen. Some of Rachel’s cupcakes were slanted, many were burnt, and there were even a few that were overflowing with barely cooked batter. I think we laughed the entire night at how perfectly imperfect her cupcakes turned out. We even put her ‘creations’ next to the website photo, and Rachel looked at me very seriously and said, ‘nailed it’.

Rachel, thank you for teaching me that nothing in life is perfect. You taught me that a lot more laughter - and a lot less taking myself so seriously - is truly the key to happiness. And most importantly, you taught me that the journey is far more important than the outcome. I loved our little journey together, and although it has been cut short, I know we'll be together again one day.

To Rachel’s family, We all speak of her strength and her bravery these past 20 months. I’d like to recognize all of you for the same. Especially you, Anthony. Rachel was so lucky to have such a supportive, loving, and positive team. I wish you all peace.

Rachel Strong, you will forever be in our hearts.

All my love,

Abby

The time i was able to spend with Rachel I was lucky enough to meet a true best friend. Rachel was an amazing person inside and out with her silly laugh, gorgeous smile, positive attitude and strength to succeed. We were able to make so many amazing memories that I will never forget, these are just a few of my favorites. Rachel and I went to stop and shop one night and she really loved this hot pink unicorn onesie and she wanted to wear it all around in the store and she didn’t care about what anybody thought of what she was wearing, Another night rachel decided to steal her mom's credit card to order dominos to my house without anybody knowing, Rachel and I had the greatest sleepover ever and we were laughing all night till about 2 in the morning and then we find out we flooded out Rachels moms whole bathroom (sorry Aimee), One time when I went to go visit Rachel in the hospital the nurse would not stop hitting herself with a paddle on her back and we couldn’t stop laughing every time we saw that nurse, We also loved making YouTube videos together of us doing crazy stuff and enjoying our time together, and we can never forget about the time when she would call her iv machine Leonard and treating it like he was her pet. Thank you for everything you did for me from teaching me how to be strong to not being able to control our laughter together. You will forever have the most special place in my heart, and I'm so happy to be able to call you my best friend forever and always. I love and miss you so much Rachel <3

I met Rachel when we were only three years old. We loved seeing each other each day at daycare, and played “High School Musical” almost every day. Despite going to different schools, Rachel and I always stayed friends. After she was diagnosed with AML, I visited her at Stony Brook Hospital, and discovered the Ronald McDonald House. This was a room on the pediatric floor for patients and their families to spend time if they wanted to watch tv, play with toys, or even just get away from the hospital room. I loved this idea and decided to collect toy donations to give to the Ronald McDonald House for my mitzvah project in 2017. I gathered about $700 in toys and delivered them to the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park to be distributed to hospitals all over Long Island.

Haley Weinstein

I knew Rachel since I was three years old and we always had such a great time when we were together. One of my favorite memories with her was when we were ten. My sister had a checkup at the doctor's and Rachel came with us to the appointment. Before we left my house, we decided to have some fun and we pretended that we were twins. We dressed up in the same outfit and even did our hair the same way. When we got to the doctor's office, we pretended to fight and tattle on each other. We started telling random strangers that we were twins and asking them to try and tell us apart. Obviously, we weren't twins, so it was funny watching everyone have these confused expressions on their faces. We started causing such a commotion that the receptionist at the front desk had to tell us to keep it down. We couldn’t stop laughing. I will always cherish my time and memories with Rachel.

Brooke Kanganis

Hi, my name is Brooke Kanganis and I had one of the greatest opportunity’s in the world and that opportunity was to have Rachel Antorino as my best friend. When Rachel and I met in elementary school, we created a friendship that I knew was going to be special.

Throughout our years in school together, we had many of the same classes, and her being in them made them 10x better. In middle school, Rachel and I had art together, which was probably one of my favorite memories. Both of us couldn’t draw one bit, and trying to do projects together was definitely a challenge. We did get in trouble many times, but the fact that everyday I walked into that class knowing I was going to get some sort of laugh out of Rachel, all made up for it.

When I moved to my new house in 2016, one of the things I was most excited for was to be living 3 houses down from one of my best friends. When summertime came around, there was nothing better than inviting her to swim in the pool, and her showing up in the next 5 minutes. Being neighbors with Rachel was so special to me.

Another one of my favorite memories with Rachel was the constant sleepovers and dinners on school nights. As often as we could, Rachel, myself and two of our other friends and our moms would set up dinners. Many times, we would end up convincing our moms to let us sleep at Rachel's, and then Aimee would drive us into school late the next morning. It was something I always looked forward to and will cherish forever, I always enjoyed being around Rachel whenever I could. Our frequent hospital visits were the best, and there was nothing better than Rachel introducing us to all her favorite nurses. Many times we had picnic lunches on the roof, and road Rachel all around in her wheelchair which she loved doing. When the holidays came around, we brought it to her with a bunch of decorations and yummy treats. We got our own conference room all to ourselves, and made it as special as it could be. There wasn’t ever a time that when I was with Rachel I wasn’t smiling or laughing, because even at her sickest times, she somehow was able to bring out the happiness in others.

I cannot put into words how grateful I am to call her my best friend. She truly was the most caring, thoughtful and loving friend I’ve ever come to know. I’m so beyond lucky to have known her. Her contagious smile and laugh always lit up the room no matter what the situation was. The memories I made with Rachel growing up, will always have such a special place in my heart that will forever stay with me. She is my inspiration and motivation for everything I do, and I always try to make her proud. There is never a day that goes by that I’m not thinking of her. I miss her every day and because of her strength, she has helped make me the person I am today. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have the opportunity to know her. She is my forever best friend, and my inspiration.

Rachel is my cousin, and my very first best friend. We shared so many amazing times together, it’d be impossible to narrow it down to just one specific memory. But when I think of Rachel, the thing I remember most is her sense of humor. Ever since we were little, Rachel always knew how to make me laugh. She had the most contagious laugh! I remember so many times that we would be laughing so hard, we would end up rolling on the floor. Whether it was a sleepover or family vacations, we would always find something to laugh about. I really miss laughing with my best friend. Happy sweet 16 Rachel! I love you.

Alyssa Stagg

My name is Alyssa Stagg and I have been friends with Rachel since we were 5 years old. I will forever remember all the memories Rachel and I have shared together. One thing that I love about Rachel is she was always so happy and energetic and I always loved being around her. My favorite memory with Rachel was making songs on the bus and always putting on performances by singing and dancing. Rachel’s Dance for the Cure is very important because while we have raised money for other children who have pediatric cancer, this foundation is in honor of Rachel’s story and it impacts many people by showing how Rachel was so strong and kept fighting. Even when obstacles came in the way, she always had a smile on her face. Rachel will forever be in my heart and I know that I will always have an angel looking over me. I am thankful for all the times we’ve shared together and I will forever cherish our friendship.

Isabella Cervini

I first met Rachel at the Commack soccer field. While they played soccer Rachel and I played at the playground. My first impression of Rachel was her great smile, curly hair and glasses. Through the years Rachel and I remained friends celebrating birthdays, having sleepovers and family dinners as our moms became friends. When Rachel became sick, it was devastating. She was so strong throughout her illness and never left you know how ill she was. I enjoyed my visits with her in the hospital and the times she was able to be home. Rachel was one of the strongest people I have ever met. At times in my own life I draw from her strength. Rachel will be forever missed.

Riley Rutigliano

Over the last few years I was fortunate enough to spend time with the most wonderful, cheer hearted girl and I have to pick just one of my most memorable times I got to spend with her. The time I spent with Rachel at the hospital was probably the most eye opening and life changing time. Rachel was definitely the most happiest person in that whole hospital and yeah I know that sounds a little strange but Rachel isn't like most people. She is a strong, courageous fighter who has inspired not just me but many others to keep fighting. From that minute I walked into her hospital room and to the moment I walked out a smile never left my face. My dearest friend was going through something so hard and challenging but Rachel did not care. Just those couple hours I spent with her, she always was smiling, playing her ukulele, holding on tight to Leonard (my favorite) and walking around with me. At that moment my life changed because I knew Rachel was tough and she had a whole community to stand behind her. She fought with everything she had with her though her most toughest days to her last... I love you Rach with my entire heart and so much more and I would do anything to say that to your face. Love you girl, hope you're not gettin into too much trouble up there! See ya soon!

XOXO,

Riley

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Rachel's 16th Birthday Newsletter!!!