Miracle kiddo Will Kohn, age 4
As SAU’s largest student run organization, Dance Marathon can be overwhelming at times. It’s full of passion, drive, and dedication—all three characteristics that can come off a bit aggressive when explained to others. There are so many aspects of Dance Marathon, though, that often go unseen, unheard or simply unthought-of.
One miracle kiddo who flies under the radar, for example, is Will Kohn. Will has a rare heart defect called HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome). Today, at 4 years old, Will is waiting for a heart transplant.
When I think little, 4 year-old Will, hoping every single day to see his name get to the top of that transplant list, I think of everything his new heart could give him.
And I think of Caroline Griffin.
Caroline Griffin was a junior at SAU when she was tragically taken from us this winter due to heart failure. I’ll be the first to say that didn’t know Caroline as well as many of her friends and family did. After her passing this winter, however, I have gathered a good idea of the life she led as the ultimate fighting Bee.
Caroline was diagnosed with endocardial fibroelastosis as a baby, and she underwent a heart transplant at just three months old.
Thanks to that new heart, Caroline lived a beautiful, fun, passionate life. She was known for her unfaltering smile, optimism and radiant sense of humor.
Although it may have been a tough fight, Caroline got to experience her awkward pre-teen years, go to Kairos, and get into college with a golf scholarship. She was able to experience those new and exciting first days of college at St. Ambrose, her first party, Last Blast, and touch countless lives in the process.
And while her heart may have failed at the early age of 21, it is impossible to say that it didn’t give her one heck of a run.
All of these things that Caroline got to experience with her new heart— the fun, friends, mishaps and laughs—are all of the things that Will could miss out on without his new heart.
Getting Will a new heart is getting him a chance at a life full of thrill and experience; a chance at living a life as treasured as Caroline’s.
Dance Marathon can’t magically get Will’s name get to the top of that list, but it can do every single thing possible to speed along the process.
As a fundraiser for Iowa Children’s Hospital, our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, Dance Marathon raises money to fund all kinds of services, equipment and research for sick kiddos.
That’s why this Saturday, for 12 hours straight, SAU will come together to stand, dance, and fight for the kids at CMN—for Will, for Caroline, and for so many other kiddos who deserve a chance to live lives as fully, richly and ultimately as they can.
As always, FTK every DM day.