Posted on 02/20/2005 6:08:24 PM PST by FlJoePa
Thon dancers get a lift from smiles of young patients
By Chris Rosenblum
crosenbl@centredailiy.com
UNIVERSITY PARK -- As long as children squirted him with cold water and bounced rubber balls off his head, Ted Dougenik could put up with his aching arches.
Dougenik, a Penn State sophomore, was one of 711 dancers shuffling, swaying and just trying to stay awake during the Penn State Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon on Saturday in Rec Hall.
But trying to boogie for 48 hours became easier once gleeful children and their families arrived and started mingling.
"When the kids came, really, I forgot the pain in my legs," Dougenik said.
That'll happen when you're too busy dodging sudden showers, playing silly games, batting balls or just goofing around -- all key parts of Thon, which raised nearly $3.6 million last year and $30 million since 1973 for the Four Diamonds Fund. The fund supports families with children being treated for cancer at the Penn State Children's Hospital.
Organizers expect 30,000 visitors before Thon ends today. On Saturday, hundreds were in Rec Hall's stands cheering on friends and family members on the floor.
For children such as 5-year-old Dylan Moser, of Reading, the dancers crowd together in a swirling carnival of thumping music, colorful garb and plenty of food -- sort of a G-rated Mardi Gras on Penn State's campus.
Moser, who is battling leukemia, was certainly doing his part. His smile positively electric, he sprayed anybody within range of his water gun. Nobody tried too hard to get out of the way.
"He thinks this is just a big party for him," said his mother, Janell Moser, at her second Thon.
Her husband, John Moser, gazed around at his first.
"I'm overwhelmed, really," he said. "There are so many people here. It's amazing how many people are willing to come out here and raise money for people they don't know."
Or, he could have said, get drenched.
Dougenik's sponsor child, Jed Smith, 7, a leukemia patient from Red Lion, appeared to be receiving as much as he gave. Soaked from head to waist, he ducked and weaved in a running battle with several dancers as his mother, Kristin Buckley, and his sister, Savannah Smith, looked on in amusement.
"He loves his dancers," Buckley said.
And they love him right back.
It was a sentiment heard time and again from dancers. They're out there for two days, laughing through the fatigue, waving their arms in a line dance, so that sick children can receive aid and maybe even cures.
But if they're helping kids to a better future, the kids are helping them survive to the next hour.
"They're like a happy spirit," said Stacey Shapiro, a Penn State sophomore and Thon volunteer. "They keep everybody smiling and energetic."
The Armstrong children from Mountaintop sparked many grins. Alicia and Alexis, 2-year-old twins, accepted beaded necklaces from visibly charmed dancers. Meanwhile, their brother, Thomas, played toss with other students.
"They're not letting (dancers and volunteers) get tired, that's for sure -- doing their job," said Carolyn Armstrong about her children.
Her son, now 9, was diagnosed with cancer at 9 months but has been cured for three years. Saturday was his eighth Thon.
"I like seeing all the dancers," he said. "Last year, I saw the Penn State field hockey team and they gave me a basketball."
But not an ordinary ball, prompted his mother.
"A Washington Wizards basketball, signed by all the players," Thomas said.
Resting in the Family Room, Katie Johnson, 11, of Lititz, wore her prized keepsake -- a Thon T-shirt bearing the inked signatures of several Penn State football players. She's finished with her leukemia treatments, but like everybody at some point on Saturday, needed a little breather.
Not that she was through for the day. No way -- there were too many games with balls waiting for her.
"Sometimes, it flies out of the circle and bops someone on the head," she said.
That could smart a bit, but probably not as much as sore feet and legs. Under the stands, several volunteers gave massages to grateful dancers. One was Scott Sherbine, a Penn State junior in his first Thon, getting his calves worked on.
"It's a little harder than I thought it would be," he said.
Still, he was glad he signed up.
"Just because it's a really good cause," Sherbine said. "It's just like a personal challenge to see if I could do it. Hopefully, I can."
Nearby, other students stretched, did pull-ups or snacked on fruit, bagels, pizza, chips and juice in order to ward off sleepiness. Some needed a bit more help and popped into the First Aid room, where student trainers taped ankles and offered moral support in the form of toys, balloons and jokes.
By early afternoon, nobody had come in truly injured, said Lyndsay Smith, a senior student trainer.
"Just fatigue," she said. "They're getting tired."
Still, they danced, listening to electronica, disco, '80s rock songs from the band Velveeta, even a clarinet performance from 10-year-old Sophie Restall as part of a family variety show.
Lauren Haines, who came from Honey Brook with five siblings, had an idea for perking up her sponsors -- a little styling from a 7-year-old with leukemia and a Nittany Lion paw print painted on one cheek.
"I'm going to play with one of my dancers' hair," she said.
Her mother, Dawn Haines, said Lauren has been given an 80 percent to 85 percent chance of being cured. Thirty years ago, Haines said, the survival rate would have been 4 percent.
"That's amazing," she said. "That's why we know it's a great cause."
While fighting cancer, Jared Quell always enjoyed Thon. He died last year, a month shy of his 10th birthday from complications after a bone marrow transplant.
But David Quell still brought his family all the way from Reading again this year and watched his 7-year-old son, Nolan, once more shoot Silly String onto dancers and love every minute.
"I support Four Diamonds 100 percent because of what they did for us and continue to do," David Quell said.
Not long after, Will Smith began gyrating on the giant, twin video screens, singing "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It." Scores of dancers and children, moving to the beat, were just getting started.
Proud to be a Penn Stater today. Way to go kids!
BTW, this is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, and keeps getting bigger every year.
-ccm
And I was hoping for pictures too.
Ignorant reporters who cannot spell "MARATHON" need to be sent back to grade school.
Our kids receive a poor enough education in school without these intentional word mis-creations by the media.
What are you talking about? "Thon" has been the nickname for the Dance Marathon for over 20 years. In Happy Valley, Thon is the way it is referred to.
Nowhere do I see the word "thong" in the entire article. On top of that, if you're going to take the time to comment on the article, how about commenting on the $4 million these kids just raised for cancer patients?
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