I am hugely active in THON back home and love every second of it. We fund raise year round to raise money to help children with pediatric cancer. 92% of all the money we raise goes to the children and their families to aid with the costs of treatment, help pay for gas to and from Hershey Medical Center, as well as a variety of other costs like paying for entertainment and fun activities for the children while they are in the hospital. The fund that provides these services to the children is called the Four Diamonds Fund and was created by Charles Millard when his son died of pediatric cancer at a very young age.
The way that Penn State comes together to unite against cancer is breathtaking. The pictures cannot do the event justice. The culmination of the fundraising season is THON weekend which is a 46 hour no sitting or sleeping dance marathon to show the families and the world what a group can do when the unify completely to fight for a cause. It is also a weekend to spend with the families and children we are working so hard to help, to give them a weekend to forget that there is anything wrong, to give them a weekend to play and simply be a kid.
Throughout the weekend there are performances and events to keep the dancers motivated and to make the event crazy fun for everyone. Of the over 15,000 students volunteers involved in THON there were 709 dancers selected this year to dance. Dancing is an honor and you have to work very hard to earn that honor, those brave 709 people aren't allowed to sit or sleep for the entire duration of the 46 hour dance marathon. To help keep them going they have the "line dance" which is a dance that everyone in the Bryce Jordan Center learns that mixes clever lyrics with even more fun dance moves. And so you know just what I'm talking about here is a video of just that dance from THON 2011.
Absolutely. Awesome.
The best part is it changes every year and the lyrics make references to things that happened throughout the year since the last THON.
Unfortunately for me my THON weekend was spent in front of a small computer screen watching the live podcast all the way from Spain. Transcending time differences and a big ole deficiency of sleep I watched the podcast for close to 20 of the 46 hours. I sat in my room alone and facebook chatted any and all Penn State people I could. Fortunately for me many of my other friends who are very involved in THON are studying abroad so we formed our own support network abroad to keep each other going.
Pictured above is this years THON logo, "Together Without Limits"
But as the hours ticked on I was so thankful for the podcast because I was able to see all the people I love back at PSU dancing their hearts out for the kids. Having water gun fights, playing catch, and overall doing everything they can to make these amazing kids smile.
So as I sat at my computer through the weekend laughing, crying, and smiling all alone it was the first time I have really, truly missed my PSU during my time here in Spain. That's not to say I haven't missed all my friends because that couldn't be further from the truth but this was the first time I felt a true desire to be back at PSU. I must have said to a hundred different people that I would do anything to be back at PSU that weekend and believe me I meant it.
In the final four hours of THON there is an hour called Family Hour where families come up and tell there stories about their struggles with cancer. It literally is one of the most emotional things I have ever experienced in my life and every year it continues to do the same thing. Even sitting watching my tiny computer screen I was balling my eyes out alone and although that may seem sad to some of you reading this, it wasn't. Yes I wanted to be there but the amazing thing is thousands of miles away I was still able to feel this amazing bond with my school and THON.
The football team performing during the pep rally.
And a quick aside before I wrap this up, I explained THON to my host mother, Mavi, here in Spain. I get emotional every time I talk about it and when she told me this story I was truly blown away. She told me her son at 14 discovered he had a tumor in his leg the length of his quad muscle. The doctor told him and his mother that he might lose his leg. So a friend of Mavi's got a jersey and got it signed by the entire Italian Nationals Soccer Team and sent it to Mavi's son as a gift. When he got it he said to his mom and the doctor, "I want to play soccer." Knowing full well he could lose his leg if the cancer spread. He had the operation and everything went smoothly. Now at 20 years old he is attending the University of Granada and doing great with no signs of regressing. He has a girlfriend that Mavi describes as "guapisima" which basically translates to "fiiiiiiiine" in English. And he plays soccer all the time.
I had trouble holding back tears hearing the story because I couldn't think of a more genuine, real example that cancer doesn't exclude any group of people, all are susceptible to it. One of Mavi's neighbors upstairs lost her young daughter to cancer when she was just a child. I don't say that to put a damper on the mood I say it to show why THON is so important and to show that our efforts at PSU can affect not just the kids of the Four Diamonds Fund but the whole world.
With the final four hours coming to a close everyone you could feel the anticipation building, even all the way from Spain, to see the final total for this year. Last year we raised $7.83 million dollars and everyone was just hoping and praying that this year we would break because everyone had an amazing fundraising season. After thousands of tweets from around the world, even some from some celebrities supporting THON and spreading the word had come in we came in on the last hour. And after a blow out performance by Go Go Gadget the party was finally coming to a close. Then before you know it, "10, 9, 8 ,7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 EVERYBODY SIT DOWN!!!" And as one everyone sits. The quiet in the room at that moment is life changing, I cant even describe it.
Then the overalls list off the fundraising winners for the year and the moment comes.
The total reveal.
Literally took my breath away, I jumped out of my chair, took off my shirt, ran around my room. Literally don't know why I took my shirt off I just had so much energy and joy that I had to do something without screaming and waking up the neighbors. Literally there couldn't be a greater testament to what we the students at Penn State can do when we come together for a cause. And remember 92% of that $9.56 million dollars goes to the kids.
There is just nothing better. Although I missed everybody, especially my committee (I tried to put a picture of you guys in here but I couldn't get one cause the only ones I have are one facebook) I'm glad I was able to still be a part of it. For a weekend I made a twitter account just to tweet about THON (deleted it the next day), I must have told 10,000 people about THON and made them watch the live podcast along with me, and I sat back and thought about everyone back at PSU.
Most importantly I thought about our THON child and his family from my organization Phi Eta Sigma, Darian Erb. I have been the family relations chair for 2 years in PHE and have become very close with Darian and his father. Although I haven't been able to get in touch with them here in Spain I know they are doing well through communicating with people in my committee and I know they had a blast this THON weekend. Someone told me the Mr. Erb, Darian's father left me a voicemail on his way to THON this year knowing full well I wouldn't get it and it hit me I have that waiting for me when I come back from Spain! Truly an amazing family and I'm blessed to know them.
I miss you guys but my life here in Spain is really starting to kick into high gear so as much as I love you all, I gotta get out there and live!
I couldn't be more proud of everyone involved and thank you to those children and families for being the inspiration that drives us to do better year after year. They are the reason we do it and I am truly a better person through getting to know the families and children involved in THON. Thank you, because you give us so much more than you could ever imagine.
Together without limits, FTK!
No comments :
Post a Comment