Its official, my aspiration of keeping this blog going after
returning from Romania was foolhardy. I haven’t written for over a year much to
the dismay of my #1 fan – my grandpa. I laugh looking back on the last topic
that made me sit down and write. If you didn’t read my thoughts on gunners last
year, I continue to strongly support these views and encourage my hoard of
friends just starting med school to absorb and live by them. As a quick update,
the statement in the Gunners post about last year being my finally year of
classroom education turned about to be a lie. Now you’re all warned– I’m an
author you can’t trust. I decided to also pursue a Masters of Public Health, so
this will be my final year of classroom education. But enough about that, what has drawn me back
to writing is the organization to drives me to do almost everything these days
– DANCE MARATHON.
A few weeks ago, UI Marketing Professor Ken Brown, came to
talk to the Dance Marathon leadership team about giving an elevator pitch. I,
for one, function much better in writing with spell check, editing and Google
at my disposal. So, in the hopes of perfecting my elevator pitch, and
convincing some of you to dance or donate, I’m going to first explain in
writing why I dance.
First, for the unlikely potential reader who I haven’t in
the past asked for a donation from or dance with, here is the best, quick,
non-Kaitlin explanation of what Dance Marathon is: http://vimeo.com/38256820.
And now, why I dance and run….
In the past two years, I’ve learned incredible things from
Dance Marathon kids and families in my roles as Hospital Chair and Director.
Last winter, I was in the best snowball fight of my life. This snowball fight
involved decorative snow instead of real snow and took place in a hospital hallway
instead of outside; but the screams and laughs of joy coming from the kids,
parents and Dance Marathon volunteers alike proved that when life gives you
lemons, make lemonade. When life says your cell count is too low to play
outside in the cold, forget about making those cute holiday ornaments for your
parents, and make a decorative snow mess so big it’s still being cleaned up
today.
Dance Marathon has taught me that kids will be kids. I’ve
meet toddlers and kindergarteners who know names of eight syllable chemo drugs
and don’t need to be sedated to get radiation. But, these same kids don’t let
their health affect their imagination or their love of life. I’ve learned from
these kids that the appropriate way to kill a zombie is to jump up and down and
spit on them and that no IV pole is going to keep them from biking at top
speeds down hospital hallways. They don’t have to slow down…the pole and those
of us pushing it need to move faster.
So in short: I dance (and run) for lemonade. I dance so kids
can be kids. I dance for silver linings. I dance for ALL the kids and families
I’ve had the honor to meet.
So you convinced? Do
you want to dance? Do you want to support my dancing and running by donating?
Here’s how:
To dance:
register at http://dancemarathon.uiowa.edu/
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| Dance Marathon 18 raised $1,369,147.18 and supported over 700 families currently or previously treated for pediatric cancer at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital. |
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| Why the Dance Marathon 19 Executive Council dances. |
