She had so much energy and spunk that no one would even be able to tell that she was one of our children undergoing treatment at the clinic. By the end of the festival as everyone was gathering their things to leave, she still had that sweet smile on her face as she gave me a hug good-bye. I DanceBlue for those smiles.

FTK,
Kat Flynn
Operations Chair DB '11

I was 14 years old when I received a hysterical phone call from my neighbor. I regularly babysat her son, Jose. After a few minutes of, "hey calm down" and, "I can't understand you" it became clear that I needed to go over to her house to understand the situation. Upon my arrival the garage door was opened and I was beckoned to get in the car. Jose was buckled up in the back seat. He was always petite but just looked particularly small and fragile though he still had a huge smile on. His mother began explaining how Jose had had a cough for a while now and so she took him to the doctor. This was the follow-up appointment that we were headed to and she explained how the doctor had sounded like she would not like what he had to say. She called me for support. Once at the hospital we were directed to a little room obviously designed for children. The doctor entered and I swear it took him hours to sit down. Jose was playing in the corner when the doctor told us that Jose had non- Hodgkin's lymphoma. I'm not really sure if my neighbor was listening at that point but I was gone. My heart had dropped, time seemed to slow, and I know the doctor was speaking but I couldn't hear him. There we sat just waiting for reality to kick back in. When it did it was like a freight train. My shock sustained as my neighbor broke down. The doctor apologized, exited, and Jose came over to see what was wrong with mommy. I'll never forget how she looks up at him and he caresses her cheeks and says. "it's ok mommy." That was the beginning of Jose's fight against cancer. We could barely stand what was happening and yet this 3 year old was comforting US and telling US it was going to be ok. It was oddly humbling. I watched as the most joyful little boy I've ever met slowly withered away. We buried Jose February 18, 2004 just before his 4th birthday. I DanceBlue in adoring memory of that little boy who taught me more about courage and hope than any adult could ever try. I DanceBlue for Jose.

FTK,
Katie Foxworth
Programming Chair DB '11