What motivated you to
become a dancer?
I’ve done THON for four years, and this is kind of my last year.
I wanted to experience this. Plus, we are at a branch campus that does not
have a THON family, so I wanted to hang out with the kids and realize we’re
making a difference.
Also, I’ve had so much experience with pediatric cancer. My
one cousin had leukemia, and one of my friend’s sons had neuroblastoma. So,
I’ve realized what kids go through first hand.
I wanted to do everything I could do in my last year for
THON. I’ve witnessed what it’s like to be a dancer. I think you see the true
meaning of THON when you’re a dancer.
There is a
lot of anticipation leading up to the finale. What was it like walking through
the human tunnel and onto the BJC?
How do you put it into words? It is a feeling like no other.
It’s pride, accomplishment. It’s a feeling you’ve never had before. Seeing
moralers, families and kids, it gives you a sense of pride you’ve never felt in
your life.
Seeing PSUNK in our section is phenomenal. We’ve never been
that close, and it helped us so much.
Then, taking those first few steps was just amazing. Seeing
the stage, the four diamonds on the ceiling, seeing the banner, it was
awe-inspiring.
Elaine Tanella takes
the stage and talks a little about herself and THON. Then, she starts a
countdown for dancers to stand. What’s it like to finally stand?
The anxiety kills you. It’s so hard to put these things into
words. Getting ready to stand, you get tingles and a whole sense of serenity. It’s
a feeling like no other.
You don’t think about standing for 46 hours. You think about
standing up for the kids that can’t stand up themselves.
Standing up and seeing 707 other dancers standing, too, you
know you have them, the moralers and New Kensington. When you look at all the people
that come to THON, it’s just insane. It is an amazing feeling.
Every dancer goes
through some challenges be it a headache, sore feet, dehydration or general
tiredness. How were you able to push through those challenges?
It’s definitely tough. There are moments that you question
if you can keep going. I kind of felt drunk. I was hallucinating and seeing people
that weren’t there. And there were moments I thought I was sleeping.
[On Saturday night] I was with Que Harris-Moore, but I didn’t
know where I was going. Que pushed me like no other.
It’s tough. You’re body isn’t made to be standing and active
that long, but having people push helps.
The thing that killed me physically was my feet. My calves
and feet were swollen on the last day. But most of my physical pain came
afterwards, after I rested for a while.
What’s your favorite
moment with a child from that weekend?
I went to my locker to change socks and shoes, and while I
was back there a boy came up to me. He grabbed my water gun, and handed it to
me.
He said, ‘Can you help me?’
I went to the men’s room to fill our water guns. He said ‘I
need you to help me shoot someone.’ We went out there and he could not stop shooting
us, but it was a blast. It was the most fun I had all weekend.
Paula Dove gave me a gift that I was supposed to color and
give to someone. It was a superman picture. I colored it in, saw that boy’s dad
and said, ‘I don’t know where your child went, but I colored this for him.’
Later that day I saw him and his child, and the parents
said, ‘It’s one of the sweetest things a dancer did for him.’
Getting that picture made his day, and seeing him smile was
just phenomenal.
What was it like to
see your parents?
I know the first time I saw them they were on the other side of
the pit, and I started crying.
Prior to THON weekend, my family wasn’t too involved in THON.
They knew what I did, but they didn’t work with us. They saw why I put do much
work into this program. I’ve never been so happy to them.
Then, seeing them [on Saturday night] got me going, again.
That was right after I hit a wall. They got me going, again.
My sister was watching a live stream on her way up. She
learned the line dance before she got there. She’s now looking into schools and
figuring out what she wants to do after high school. She said to me the next night that THON is a
great organization. She loves dancing and being with kids, so she might go to Penn
State because of that.
My mom stayed home with my puppy. My mom has been telling all
of her friends about THON. She’s been telling people to donate even just a
dollar if they can to help us.
My mom also told me that a family friend called her. She
told my mom she was sorry for not being in touch lately. She also told my mom
that one reason she quit her job is that her son has cancer.
My mom says to me, “You’ve got one more to pray for.”
I know this kid. He is just like me when I was young, but he
has cancer.
It’s tough seeing these kids go through cancer.
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