DanceBlue began with a mission to fulfill the wish of Jarret Mynear and help the pediatric oncology clinic improve the care it provided to patients and their families. To begin Blitz Week, DanceBlue wants to remember the meaning of our marathon: to carry on Jarret’s mission to support the children in the UK DanceBlue Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic.
As a reminder of why we DanceBlue, Izzy Baker, the Family Relations Clinic Activities Coordinator, will share a story of participating in a bell-ringing. Every physician, nurse, employee, volunteer, and family member gathers in the clinic as patients ring the bell to celebrate their victories throughout their cancer journey. It is a special celebration to be a part of and serves as a reminder of why this organization continues to fight against pediatric cancer for the kids.
From Izzy:
A couple of weeks ago, I had the amazing opportunity to witness my first bell ringing in the DanceBlue Clinic while I was volunteering. A patient gets to ring the bell when they officially become cancer free, and the excitement in the air during my shift was tangible. Everyone in the clinic lined the halls leading up to the bell including physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, the child life specialist, and more. As the patient rounded the corner, everyone started cheering for her. She walked down the pink carpet we laid down with the biggest smile on her face. When she reached the bell, she gave it one shy ring before ringing it with all her might. The now cancer-free patient turned to her physician and gave him a huge hug. He gave her a DanceBlue shirt and a sash that said she beat cancer, and everyone cheered once more. Getting to see this event firsthand reminded me why we DanceBlue. We put our hearts and souls into this organization to help kids, like the one I met, get to ring the bell.
