Bigger Than All of Us

A guest article from Makenna Berg and Abigail Mihaiuc, DM at UW Executive Team members.

Dance Marathon teams from Seattle University and the University of Washington joined forces and raised over $70,000 for Seattle Children’s Hospital and Strong Against Cancer.

With snowy weather interrupting plans for Dance Marathon at University of Washington, Seattle University reached out to support the UW team in whatever way possible. The result was an event with the same heart, the same mission, and the same goal. These universities’ united event show that the cause is truly “Bigger Than All of Us” to raise funds and awareness #ForTheKids.

During the event, students continued to fundraise for the cause. From yoga, zumba, drummers, Dubs II, and a morale dance to dozens of miracle families from Seattle Children’s Hospital sharing their stories, the entertainment lasted the entire 16 hour event!

Part of the Miracle Network Dance Marathon movement for years, both Seattle University and the University of Washington have helped sick and injured children like Elijah Hagstrom. Elijah was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in his liver and lungs. He fought a long, hard battle filled with months of chemotherapy and a 70% resection of his liver. Thankfully, because of the incredible cancer treatment, Elijah is now considered cancer free. Unfortunately, due to the intense treatment, Elijah had hearing loss. The Uncompensated Care Fund helped to pay for the hearing aids Elijah required as a result of his cancer battle. Elijah is now a strong, healthy young man who just received the Wayne Gittinger Inspirational Award. We are lucky to have miracle families like the Hagstrom’s share their experiences with Seattle Children’s at our Dance Marathon events. Children like Elijah are the reason we continue to dance.

Thank you to all of the students from Seattle University and the University of Washington who took part in this amazing event to support Seattle Children’s Hospital. Our success in this event is a direct reflection of your astounding effort and support!

About the Authors:

Abigail Mihaiuc is a senior nursing student at the University of Washington and this is her first year with Dance Marathon as Assistant Director of Recruitment. She is currently working on undergraduate research exploring how local emergency departments are working to identify and help commercially and sexually exploited children.

Makenna Berg is a senior nursing student at the University of Washington who has been involved with Dance Marathon for four years. She currently is an Undergraduate Research Assistant in Clinical and Translational Research at Seattle Children’s Hospital and works at UWMC on the Medical/Oncology ICU.