Greek houses have been paired with Miracle Children for 2016's Soonerthon, and some of the children are veterans of the dance marathon event.
Each year, fraternities and sororities are paired with one or two kids who are a part of the Children’s Miracle Network and are known as Miracle Children. These children receive care, benefit from the Children’s Miracle Network and the Children’s Hospital Foundation and speak about their illnesses or disabilities to spread awareness and education.
The fraternity Sigma Chi is paired with Reis Wathen, a 13-year-old with Down syndrome who will be participating in Soonerthon for his third or fourth year, according to his mother, Lori Wathen.
He loves the Soonerthon dance, and she likes raising funds for the hospitals and raising awareness of the services at OU Children’s Hospital and educating others about Down Syndrome, Lori Wathen said.
Because Lori Wathen works at the OU Health Sciences Center and Reis sees several doctors at OU Children Hospital, she was asked if she’d like Reis to be a Miracle Child, she said.
“When Reis was born, I didn’t even realize that there were pediatricians who specialized in kids with developmental and behavioral issues,” Wathen said. “(There are) only a handful of them in the state, and we have four or five of them at OU’s child studies center.”
As a Miracle Child, Reis goes to events, such as a golf tournament two years ago, where he and his mom speak on Down Syndrome, Wathen said. The experience was both educational and fun, and she’s grateful that they have those opportunities, she said.
Her favorite part about Soonerthon is when OU students make an archway or a path for the kids to run through, she said. “It’s just a really great experience, and I think it makes our kids feel good that people care about them,” she said.
One year, they attended the rave the night before the Soonerthon dance, and it overwhelmed Reis, Wathen said. However, sorority girls from the sorority they were paired with hung out with Reis in the lobby the whole night and played games with him, she said.
Members of Sigma Chi have met Reis at an Andy’s Alligators event earlier in the semester and plan on bowling with the family this Friday, said biology and pre-dental freshman Caelin Luster, the fraternity’s Soonerthon team captain.
“It’s been nice to get to know him, and I feel like we are trying to make a difference in his life. We share such little time with him, and I feel like we just have to make the most of it,” Luster said.
The sorority Alpha Phi has been paired with two sisters, Jazmin and Alexia Hammons, who both have Chiari I malformation, among other illnesses. Jazmin is 17-year-old senior at Moore High School and Alexia is 13 years old.
Jazmin has several brain disorders along with Chirari I in addition to a connective tissue disorder, scoliosis and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, she said. The symptoms that she experiences due to her illnesses include constant migraines, joint pain, chest pain and memory problems, she said.
She had brain surgery in 2012, which helped alleviate symptoms she experienced due to Chirari I but worsened the other symptoms she experiences daily, she said.
Her condition has affected her schoolwork and everyday life, but since it’s her senior year of high school, she’s decided to push through the pain, she said.
This will be the third time she has been a part of Soonerthon, and she looks forward to the dance, she said. “(The dances) are a long day but it was a lot of fun,” Hammons said.
Jazmin had so much fun last year that she didn’t even notice the pain she felt in her joints, her mother, Ann Humphries, said.
Humphries said she discovered the Miracle Children program after a visit to the Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, although it wasn’t very well advertised.
“It's kind of frustrating as a parent, because they don’t advertise that they have this fabulous thing (…) I wish they would just let people know more (about the opportunity),” Humphries said.
