The energy is high nine hours into this year’s IU Dance Marathon at the IU Tennis Center, but the thousands of people participating don’t yet know in 27 hours they will have raised $4.1 million for Riley Hospital for Children and broken 2015’s record-setting $3.8 million.
IUDM, the second-largest student-run philanthropy in the world according to the group’s website, is an annual event in which students stand on their feet and dance for 36 hours to raise money for the Wells Center for Pediatric Research and clinical support for Riley Hospital for Children.
Students in neon tutus and blanket capes with Riley tattoos on their faces throw footballs, dance and jump in the bounce house. One student waves his friend’s arms to the music for her in an effort to keep her awake and lively.
A short lull in the energy disappears when “No Diggity” by Blackstreet blares over the speakers, and the dance floor is flooded with students dancing, chatting and laughing excitedly despite the time — 5:30 a.m.
“United by passion, powered by hope” is the motto adorning large banners in the tennis center.
IU sophomore Julianne Delaney smiles as she approaches the stage around 5:45 a.m. to share her Riley story. Her enthusiasm is unwavering after nearly 10 hours of standing and dancing.
Everyone who participates in IUDM proclaims their dedication to the cause and sets and often surpasses fundraising goals that range from $500 to $20,000.
For Delaney, the cause is much more personal.
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The summer after her sophomore year of high school ended, Delaney came home after undergoing routine blood tests to 10 missed phone calls from a frantic-sounding nurse.
When she returned to the doctor’s office, she was told her blood had a low count of platelets, but lab technicians didn’t tell her what that could mean.
Delaney’s dad quickly Googled the possible causes of low platelets, but Delaney said she knew from the experience of a fellow student at Lafayette Central Catholic what her low count might mean — leukemia.
During the spring of Delaney’s sophomore year of high school, a close friend of a close friend named Patrick Mackey was diagnosed with leukemia after he was found to have low platelets, too. Patrick’s younger sister Claire had died not even two years earlier after a battle with leukemia.
Delaney was eventually diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a blood disorder that causes platelet levels to plunge and puts patients at risk of easy bruising and internal bleeding if not treated.
Though she didn’t have cancer, Delaney spent the next two years in and out of Riley to receive treatment.
Despite the poking and prodding and painful side effects of the disorder, Delaney said she found comfort in the people around her at Riley.
Before their diagnoses, Delaney and Mackey had done musicals and mock trial together, but they grew much closer when they formed a sort of support group for each other during many overlapping stays at Riley Hospital.
“Patrick always gave everything to me straight,” Delaney said. “If a doctor told me the spinal tap I was about to get wouldn’t hurt that bad, he would tell me if it actually would.”
One of the most frightening moments of Delaney’s illness came in the form of a bacterial meningitis scare when she experienced a headache so severe she could not move her body. She was transported to Riley Hopsital by ambulance.
Later, she learned Patrick had previously experienced the same meningitis scare, which added to their shared experiences at Riley.
Delaney called Mackey her rock during her initial treatment, but he died six months after her diagnosis.
Cancer touched Delaney’s life again when her best friend, Anna Marlatt, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and began treatment at Riley Hospital, too.
Marlatt was placed in the room next to Delaney for treatments so they could be near each other.
These are the instances, along with the bright and bubbly nurses who always made sure to stay with her after clocking out until the next nurse came, that made Riley feel like a family to Delaney.
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As of this weekend, Delaney’s platelet counts have been up for two years and her friend Anna is in remission.
This weekend, Delaney danced for Mackey, for Claire and for the people she hopes to inspire the way Riley children have inspired her.
“When you’re a 17- or 18-year-old lying in a hospital bed, it’s really easy to feel sorry for yourself, but then you see a 5-year-old kid at the door waving and realize how much they’ve gone through at such a young age,” Delaney said.
Delaney said she has enjoyed her first year as a part of the Riley Development Committee. She pairs with a Riley child to do activities like Easter egg hunts and meet-ups for dinner.
She wants them to know that people care about them, that college students care about them, and some, like herself, have glimpsed what they’ve experienced.
As anticipation builds for the moment the fundraising total for 2016 is revealed in the final hour of the marathon, IUDM president Ryan Cason takes the stage.
“There are no limits to what the IUDM family can accomplish, and we will continue to achieve the impossible and create miracles for the kids at Riley every day until there are no more sick children at Riley Hospital,” Cason said.
“We Are The Champions” by Queen plays to an ecstatic crowd after it is announced that IUDM 2016 raised a record-breaking $4.1 million.
