Monday, November 19, 2018

Why We/They Dance

So while we were at PUDM, Alyssa admitted that she hadn’t given Naomi any kind of background on the trip we were taking. She didn’t bother to explain that it was an overnight event that was raising money for Riley Hospital for Children.

So, while we were there, I gave a quick synopsis.

My story went a little like this:

I have a cousin who has a daughter who has to go to Riley every few months, sometimes every six weeks. This child has a feeding tube, she’s in a wheelchair, she has a shunt. She had open heart surgery when she was a few hours old. She’s had several other surgeries over the year. She’ll be thirteen this month and she’s had more medical procedures done to her in her thirteen years than most of us will have over the span of our entire lives.

Her parents do not have insurance. She, the child, is probably on the state-run Medicare/aid program but it’s not very good coverage.

Riley Hospital has never, not once, turned S away. They’ve never denied her care. She’s always treated with the utmost professionalism and love by every single doctor, nurse, caregiver in that hospital.

They can do this because of these dance marathons. The dance marathons raise money so that every single sick or injured child who enters that hospital receives the care they deserve, not the care they can afford.

That’s why these college kids are out there raising money, dancing their butts off, spending an entire weekend getting emotionally and physically exhausted, so that kids like Olivia and Riley and Sabella get the care they need to live their greatest lives.

When I finished speaking, Alyssa, Olivia, Naomi, Morgan (Olivia’s buddy) were silent. I think Morgan might have wiped away a tear. They all just sat there for a minute and then Morgan said, “That might be the best explanation of dance marathons I’ve heard yet.”

That was nice of her to say.

I wanted to give Alyssa and Naomi a background and an understanding of what it means to put your own interests aside for even one weekend. I know that for most dancers and committee members, the dance marathon is a season, not a weekend. These people work so hard all year long. They raise money all year long. They work on dances, food, programs, events and putting the kids first all year long.

I am so grateful to every single person who has ever participated in a dance marathon. As a Riley family, we are so happy to be included, to be able to share our story and remind every person there why they’re doing what they’re doing. It is our honor and privilege to encourage the dancers to jump one more time, to stay awake one more hour, to raise one more dollar. Sabella can’t go to the IUDM, the noise would be too much for her. But I’m going to encourage her mom to look into taking her to PUDM. They make it more comfortable for the kids with sensory issues to participate without discomfort. If they can’t do it, we will continue to do it for kids like Sabella, who’s story would inspire so many, if only they could hear even the short version.

Back in the day when I was a dancer at the IUDM, I remember we often said, “We dance because they can’t.”

Some of them can and they do. But those who can’t? We’ll keep on dancing for them.