Editor's Note: Jaryd Wright is the President of Phi Kappa Psi, which is raising money for Ball State's Dance Marathon. This story has been updated.
At the age of three, Will Bestard and his family rushed to Riley Hospital for Children after a nurse practitioner discovered abnormalities in his ultrasound. Upon arrival, Mark Cain, Bestard’s primary doctor at Riley, explained Bestard was born with three kidneys, and one of those kidneys had a cyst the size of a baseball, preventing his body from properly urinating.
He explained Bestard needed to immediately go into surgery, or his kidneys were going to fail. The surgery was successful, but his journey was far from over.
“I basically lived in Riley for four years,” Bestard said. “In and out every single day, catheters, IVs, all of that, because as I continued to grow at such a young age, they had to continuously monitor my body.”
The staff at Riley did everything they could to comfort Bestard during those four years, whether it was Cain helping the Bestards buy the child a dog or nurses devoting their careers to take Bestard as their only patient. Nowadays, Bestard visits Riley twice a year for routine checkups, but he looks forward to these visits.
“The amount of time I spent with all the radiologists, ultrasound techs, or any other doctors or nurses, I basically created a huge bond with all of them, and when I go back now, it’s like going to see family,” he said.
Bestard is a 20-year-old radiology major at Ball State University, who has been a “Riley child” for the majority of his life. But Will is not alone.
Reagan DeLoach is a third-grader from Southern Indiana, who loves to draw and play games with her friends. She has been a “Riley child” almost her entire life.
When DeLoach was two-months old, she and her family were sent to Riley after a doctor discovered abnormal growth in her skull. At Riley, the family was told DeLoach had craniosynostosis, a birth defect in which the bones in a baby’s skull join together too early, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
If DeLoach didn’t eventually go into surgery, the condition could prevent brain growth and lead to severe conditions such as blindness. Before the surgery, DeLoach had to wait months for her immune system to build up.
Initially, all of this uncertainty was tearing the family apart, but there was only one person that seemed to reassure the family: Dr. Lauri Ackerman.
Eventually, DeLoach went through the procedure, and it was a success. Through Riley, Deloach and her family found a community of families that have gone through the terrors of craniosynostosis, which has helped them tremendously through their recovery, even to this day.
Currently, DeLoach is leading a normal life, she has regular checkups at Riley and cannot wait to see Ackerman again.
The Ball State Dance Marathon executive team reveal the total amount raised Feb. 16, 2020, in the Jo Ann Gora Recreation and Wellness Center. The BSUDM raised $566,207.20 for Riley Children's Hospital. Jaden Whiteman, DN
Nowadays, Bestard and DeLoach live very different lives. They are eleven years apart in age, with about 200 miles separating them, but since their youth, the two have been a part of a much bigger community, Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
One of Riley’s biggest financial contributors is Miracle Network Dance Marathon. Ball State University Dance Marathon (BSUDM) is a student-led initiative to raise money for Riley. This year, BSUDM is set to take place Feb. 11 at the Jo-Ann Gora Student Recreation Center from noon-8 p.m.
“I have seen many Riley children who face challenges daily, and Dance Marathon is the one time that I truly feel like they have left all of that behind them, and they get to have a normal day. I see it; I see it in so many of them,” Kata Wiseman, the mother of DeLoach said. “If you’re ever at a point where you feel like you’re going to give up, just know that this, one day, really puts a smile on someone's face who normally hurts the rest of the year.”
BSUDM has been facing detrimental effects from COVID-19. Ashlyn Waterbury, the Vice President of Internal Affairs for BSUDM, confirmed since COVID-19, BSUDM has been declining in numbers. Waterbury said in Feb. 2020, BSUDM raised $566,207 with 871 participants. While in 2022, BSUDM only raised $276,495 with 369 participants.
“Learn their stories before you make your decision to attend Dance Marathon. Becoming a Riley kid shows that that person went through something crazy in their life, and they deserve recognition for that,” Bestard said.
Since 2008, BSUDM has raised over $5M in donations to Riley in order to help millions of children like Bestard and DeLoach. Despite the detrimental effects of COVID-19, the student-led group is putting in their all to make this day special.
"It's more than just dancing, it's literally saving lives. There is a line dance that we teach throughout the day. But then there are also the Riley stories, fundraising, food and games. I personally think once you go to Dance Marathon, you want to go back, and it changes you," Waterbury said.
For more information on how to join Dance Marathon at Ball State, visit the BSUDM website.
Contact with comments at jwwright2@bsu.edu or on Twitter @jaryd_wright.
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