After all of the children that were able to participate were there, our surprise guests turned on the music and the dancing began! The Funkywunks, a hip hop dance group from Orlando (known for their time on World of Dance) took the floor and showed us some moves! They were joined by a very outgoing sibling who showed us some moves of his own! Everyone watched, dancing in their seats and singing to the music!
The music, Santa, titleholders and other stations really created one of the most peaceful environments we’ve ever been in. Our volunteers and special guests all felt blessed and joyful after the event. The pictures tell a lot of the story. We look forward to this event every year, and even more so now that we’ve got Santa in our back pocket!
One 7 year old girl came in with her mom and requested she have both a pink superhero cape and a crown, so that she could be a “super queen.” She jokingly told her mom that since she was now royalty her mom would have to listen to her. Her mom laughed and said “good luck.” Everyone was laughing and filled with joy by the positive and contagious attitude that radiated from this young girl.
The ten year old’s story was so incredible – she not only survived the treatments and cancer battle, but grew and found many talents in the isolated room, and was one of the most positive kids ever, according to her mom. She even passed fourth grade on the A honor roll in the middle of it all. I found out in person just how incredible she is.
Although interacting with the kids was a highlight of the event, the most awe-inspiring moments came from conversing with family members of cancer patients. Did you know that only 4% of federal government cancer research funding goes to study pediatric cancer? One family from Oklahoma stopped by the booth and spoke to us about the loss of one of their young family members earlier that year and how her life and her struggle were worth more than just 4%. Despite this somber conversation, it reiterated that there is so much more work to be done to find a cure for pediatric cancer and how important it is to continuously enrich the lives of pediatric cancer patients all over the nation.
What an honor to have one of our facilities reach out to us for a change. The event is an annual event for the neonatal unit in Rochester, for all patients and families from the previous five years. The weather looked like it would be full of rain for days leading up to the event, but not a drop came and the sky was full of sun!
