Team forms relationship with 7-year-old Leukemia patient
After South Carolina swimmer Maryn Bieganski had ordered the T-shirts for the swimmers’ Relay for Life team, she tried to order an extra for a little girl she’s never met — but it was too late.
“I’m just going to send her mine,” Bieganski told USC swim coach McGee Moody.
It was the first thought on Moody’s mind, too, as he said that if needed, he would send his shirt. Harper Doughtie, a 7-year-old with leukemia, has been on the mind of the women’s swim team for months now, as both the men and the women have been working toward a $3,000 goal in Harper’s honor for Relay for Life.
The team first heard of Harper in September when Moody first found out through Facebook that his friend from East Carolina had a daughter, Harper, who’d been diagnosed with cancer. Bieganski had the idea of sending Harper a card, but once Moody heard back from Harper’s mom, the relationship grew.
When Harper is treated, her immune system is so broken down that she can’t have any visitors except for her parents, so she’s essentially quarantined. Harper’s mom sent Moody a photo of Harper opening a card from the girls with a big smile on her face.
“[Harper’s mom] said, ‘You’ve got to understand the day that she was having when she opened this card. It means so much to her because she doesn’t have friends to play with,’” Moody said.
When Moody relayed that back to the girls, “it became kind of like a mission.”
With each holiday, the team was putting something together for Harper. On Thanksgiving, Harper received a package with turkey hand puppets. On Christmas, the team made her snowflakes with wishes written on them. On Easter, Bieganski and another teammate sent her Easter bunny glasses. Eventually, the girls made Harper a video, so she could associate the names in the cards with their faces.
“In one package, we actually sent her one of our team shirts from this year, and there was a picture of her wearing it (on Facebook),” Bieganski said. “It was amazing. She liked that a lot.”
When it came time for Relay for Life, it was a “no brainer” for Bieganski, who’d participated in Relay for Life in the past because she’d been affected by cancer in her family and family friends.
“Our goal is to really just raise an awareness and support her as a team,” Bieganski said. “We’re a big group of people on the campus — athletics is in general. Our swim team is like 60 people, so it’s just to bring awareness and to show people that there’s something bigger than just the team to fight for.”
Harper’s Helpers, the team name for the men’s and women’s swim teams, has already raised $2,385 for childhood cancer research through the American Cancer Society in Harper’s honor. To contribute to Harper’s Helpers’ goal, donations can be made on the Harper’s Helpers page on the 2012 Relay for Life of USC page.
“In our sport, it’s all about time and how quickly you can get somewhere,” Moody said. “I think sometimes when you separate that out and you look at what they’re doing in this circumstance, to me being a dad — this is a lot of what grabbed me, as I have a daughter that is just about the same age as Harper – watching them really put their time and their effort into making this little girl smile, from the parents’ side of me, means so much more to me than any points they’re going to score for our team.”
Moody said the women’s team is a grounded group of individuals, but Harper has given the team additional perspective. Bieganski said that when she walks into the locker room on a bad day and sees the things the girls are collecting for Harper, it makes her stop and think about her day differently.
“You’re like, ‘Wow. It could be a lot worse. You’re here and you’re so lucky,’” Bieganski said.
The stories Moody has heard directly from Harper’s mom has also changed how he goes about his day, as he’s a father of four and never has to consider some of the things with his girls that his college friend has to think about.
“I listened to our guys talk about how rough practice was, and then I hear Harper’s mom tell me a story about how Harper walked up to her and say, ‘Mom, I think I’m done throwing up for the day. Give me a high-five,’” Moody said. “Those aren’t even things that we think about. When you talk about that to these folks, it starts to become really real to them.”
If Harper is healthy enough, the swim team would like for her and her parents to come down in the fall for a football game, so the women’s team can actually meet her and so that Harper’s parents can have a relaxing weekend.
In the short term, the team will continue to send Harper small gifts, including the team T-shirts, which have the quote “Forget about your worries and your strife” on the back. Thanks to the women’s swim team, Harper has the chance to do that.