SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — It’s 5:00 A.M. and phones are ringing off the hook in the lobby of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. But it’s not emergency room calls or medical transport requests. It’s for donations. The lobby of the hospital has been transformed into a radio station, with local channels like Y94 and 570 WSYR soliciting donations from listeners during the 16th annual Radiothon.
Radiothon, a Children’s Miracle Network fundraiser, helps raise money for children suffering from illnesses and their families. The money goes towards things like meal cards, gas and hotel stays. While this is the 16th year of Radiothon, Director of Community Relations and Development Toni Gary said the children’s hospital is relatively new.
“It is the 10th anniversary of the Children’s Hospital, we opened it in 2009,” Gary said. “We were the last metropolitan area of this size that didn’t have a children’s hospital. University Hospital was built in the 60’s from plans in the 50’s. We’ve always been able to provide pediatric care here, but it was on eight different floors. So now with the children’s hospital, everything is consolidated.”
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Hospital and community volunteers rotate shifts taking calls throughout the day. In addition to helping families, the donations go towards research and also technology such as iPads for the children.
© 2019 Olivia Conte
Virginia Gardner is one of the people who has seen the transformation. Her daughter, Kaitlyn, spend a lot of time on floor 7H. In 2005, Kaitlyn was diagnosed with adrenal cortical carcinoma — an extremely rare form of cancer. Doctors at Upstate had never treated it before. They didn’t let the rarity of the disease stop them. With tears in her eyes, Virginia said Upstate Golisano is the reason her daughter is still alive.
“The tumor totally encompassed her whole right adrenal gland.,” Gardner said. “They removed that, and she was on chemo for a year and a half to make sure it didn’t come back to attack her left adrenal gland. We practically lived here at the hospital her freshman year of high school. They, [Upstate Golisano], helped with parking, they helped with gas money. They helped pay for meals for me because I stayed here at the hospital with her. Everything we are giving money for is something that helped us when we were here.”
Now, years later, Kaitlyn is back at Upstate Golisano, but not as a patient. The quality of the treatment she received made her want to become a nurse. She works in the pediatric oncology unit where she gives brings comfort to the kids by sharing her story. Gardner said her daughter is an inspiration for the children’s families as well.
“It’s one of those ‘been there done that, I know exactly what you’re going through.’ I think it’s good, first of all for the kids, to see a survivor. And as being a parent, seeing a child that survived gives hope to the parents,” Gardner said.
There are countless of other families that have benefitted from the donations from Radiothon and other fundraisers. Stacie Shelton’s son Sammy is currently receiving his 5thchemotherapy treatment just a few floors above her. She shares his story during Radiothon to thank donors and show how impactful the donations are.
“To the common person just donating, they’re donating possibly $15 a month, and they have no idea what that $15 does,” Shelton said. “It helps us eat, it helps us have gas money. It helps provide for events that we look forward to because the days and nights are long here.”
Listeners can call in donations until 6:00 Thursday evening. Radiothon’s last day will be Friday, March 1st, from 5 a.m. — 6 p.m.
