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���Ĵ�ý Associate Degree Nursing students (left to right) Sara Ghanem and Samar Farag pose in the Nursing skills lab on the Framingham campus, Framingham, MA, October 2025 (Photo/���Ĵ�ý).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Liz Cooper
ecooper@massbay.edu

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (November 25, 2025) — Sara Ghanem and Samar Farag remember the exact moment they became friends, and their lives changed forever. With the constant sound of machines beeping in the background and the hustle and bustle of doctors, nurses, and staff scurrying around, a friendship grew out of love, familiarity, and respect. That day at Boston Children’s Hospital, unbeknownst to them, both women were tackling—with laser focus—the emotional and urgent need to ensure their children received the best medical care possible and lived another day. Both families, in a strange new country with no extended family or friends to lean on, experienced a life-altering encounter. In those often-stressful times, they wished for a support system to help them cope with their traumatic experience and keep them on a positive path when the road ahead was dark and unknown.

“I remember the moment. I was walking down a hallway in the ICU at Boston Children’s Hospital, speaking Arabic to my husband on the phone, when Samar walked by,” said Sara. “After I hung up, she started talking to me. We discovered we were both from Alexandria, Egypt and had each come to the United States seeking healthcare for our children. Our children shared the same symptoms, and we were both spending weeks in the hospital. Understanding what we were facing—and not having any family or friends with us for support—we naturally became friends.”

That chance meeting sparked a deep and lasting connection. As both mothers spent months living at Boston Children’s Hospital, riding a rollercoaster of fear and hope for their children’s health, their hallway encounter grew into something far deeper. It was the beginning of a friendship that would not be broken — and a sisterhood that would lead both to champion each other in life.

Sara moved to Boston in 2017 with her husband and two children, expecting to stay only for a few weeks to access the only medicine in the world that could treat her daughter’s condition. When Sara’s daughter was a newborn her daughter was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1, a severe form of Spinal Muscular Atrophy that causes muscle weakness, difficulty swallowing and breathing, and inability to sit up. Although her trip to Boston was a much longer journey than anticipated, she is thankful for finding the compassion and friendship that have sustained her.

“We searched everywhere to find what my daughter, Farida, needed to survive, and it was only available in Boston,” said Sara. “We thought we would be here for a few months. We never imagined our lives would continue here. Farida was so high-risk that leaving would have endangered her life. In those early days, weeks, and months, we never left the hospital. It became our home, day in and day out, and at the time we were the family that had stayed the longest for treatment. I didn’t know anyone here until I met Samar. Meeting her changed my life.”

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Around the same time, Samar, a single mother of two sons, came to Boston to find answers about her two-month-old son Hamza’s health. She was scared and overwhelmed, feeling extremely lonely, but determined to help her son.

“In Egypt, doctors couldn’t figure out why he was having these symptoms, there were just no answers,” said Samar. “On our second day in America, Hamza was having trouble breathing, and we had to rush him to Boston Children’s Hospital. We just wanted him to get good care and treatment that would help him. He was diagnosed with Nemaline Myopathy, a rare congenital muscle disorder that causes weakness, mostly in the face, neck, and core muscles that have no known cure. When I met Sara, even though our children didn’t have the same diagnoses, they had the same symptoms. It was comforting to talk with another mother in my situation, someone from my home who I could speak freely with. It was like we had known each other for years.”

When Sara’s daughter became well enough to attend school, Sara was told by the school that the only way she could visit during the day to check on her daughter’s health was to become a nurse. That moment inspired her to pursue nursing, and she wanted to share her new inspiration with her friend and support system, Samar.

“I was already doing so many things related to nursing,” said Sara. “I called Samar and said, ‘We are going to MassBay and signing up to become nursing students. We are already nurses in some ways. We have a lot of knowledge, now let’s get the degree. We can do this.’”

“Sara was so passionate and encouraging that we could do this for ourselves and our children,” said Samar. “I wanted to be able to fully care for my son, making it an easy decision for me. We drove to the college and signed up for classes that day. We completed our prerequisites and then earned our place in the nursing program.”

Samar added, “After my separation from my husband, I had no family, no support, and I had to learn and do everything by myself — financially and emotionally, while caring for my children. Hamza’s condition needs constant breathing support, which includes managing his ventilator and tracheostomy, as well as his G-tube for feeding. Balancing his appointments, hospital stays, my nursing lectures, my part-time job, and all our expenses have been extremely challenging for me. The nursing program is not just a degree, it’s a way to secure a better future for my kids. I want to learn more about Hamza’s care so I can give him the safest and best life possible.”

“Samar keeps me going,” said Sara. “It’s tough going back and forth between school and the hospital. Samar is patient and supportive. The nursing program is challenging, and when our children are sick, we get on the phone and help each other study or read the textbook to each other. She’s such a good friend—the best friend I could ever ask for.”

“This is our dream,” said Samar. “Some days are hard with both of our children having to go to the hospital frequently. It’s difficult balancing schoolwork when your child is sick, but when you have someone by your side encouraging you and supporting you, it makes it easier. We are looking forward to graduating together, walking across that stage, and wearing our robes. Sara holds me up. She is my support system. We will reach that moment together.”

Sara and Samar have made the Dean’s List every semester at MassBay and were inducted into the

Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society together.
“We support each other in everything,” said Sara. “We came to MassBay together, took classes together, were accepted into the Associate Degree Nursing program together. We are doing this side by side. We will graduate and become pediatric nurses together and care for our children together.”

For Sara and Samar, pursuing a nursing degree was never just about building a resume. It is about creating a sustainable and healthy future for their children and doing it side by side; supporting each other, just like all those days and weeks at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Sara and Samar are scheduled to graduate from MassBay in May 2027, together, just as they began.

���Ĵ�ý is the most affordable higher education option in MetroWest Boston and is free to most Massachusetts residents without a bachelor’s degree. With more than 70 associate degree and certificate programs, along with comprehensive workforce and educational training, MassBay provides a wide range of courses with flexible day, evening, and weekend classes in Wellesley, Framingham, the Automotive Technology Center in Ashland, and online, in high-demand fields including health and life sciences, computer science, engineering, cybersecurity, business, and the humanities. MassBay students receive unparalleled value, with free one-on-one academic and social support services, compassionate and experienced faculty, and stackable credits that easily transfer to bachelor’s degree programs and that provide hands-on, workforce-ready skills. Health sciences, human services, early childhood education, and many general education programs are offered at the 65,000 square foot, state-of-the-art MassBay Framingham, which has served the community since January 2024. Founded in 1961, MassBay has been accredited by multiple governing bodies and remains dedicated to serving its diverse communities, fostering inclusiveness, and advancing equity for all.