Saturday night, 11-year-old Helena Shaw sat with a smile spread across her face as she cheered for the men's lacrosse team while sitting with UNC's women's field hockey team.
Shaw loves nights like these - eating pizza with a UNC team, attending a game with the team and often appearing on the JumboTron - all made possible by Carolina Dreams.
The organization takes patients from the N.C. Children's Hospital and plans these types of events for kids to connect with athletes.
For Helena and the other kids who participate, it is a time to forget about their other problems and get wrapped up in sports. A time to just be kids.
"I think, unfortunately for many children in North Carolina, a visit to UNC's campus does not include a picturesque walk in the quad," said senior Michael Munnelly, a UNC lacrosse player and the president of Carolina Dreams.
"Instead, a trip to Chapel Hill means a visit to the N.C. Children's Hospital."
Helena and her family found out four years ago that she had Crohn's disease, a disease that leads to abdominal pain, diarrhea and weight loss. Finding out the diagnosis hit Helena's family hard.
"It's just something that you're always thinking about," said Duncan Shaw, Helena's father. "Just always having it there is something that is difficult and requires a lot of time and energy for all the family members."
After three years of adjusting to the disease, the hardest parts now are daily medications and frequent trips to the doctor. Helena said it's also difficult to be the only one of her friends who has to worry about her health.
Helena started attending Carolina Dreams events in 2005, and last year she went to a basketball game.
"The basketball game was the best," she said. "It was really big and exciting, and there were a lot of people, so it was loud and really fun."
Before she started Carolina Dreams at 9 years old, Helena was too young to follow or play sports.
Through the program, Helena met Dave Werry, a former lacrosse player and founder of Carolina Dreams, at the first event they attended in 2005.
His enthusiasm for sports and lacrosse sparked Helena's interest. She learned how to play lacrosse and soon shared Werry's appreciation for the sport.
Her family watched their first lacrosse game with Carolina Dreams, but as Helena's interest continued to grow they found themselves attending many games on their own.
For Helena, lacrosse now provides a physical and social outlet to have fun. Although at times her disease takes away some of her energy, she continues to enjoy spending time with kids her age and participating in a sport she loves.
Carolina Dreams has hosted four events every semester since fall 2004. About 40 families take part in the Carolina Dreams experience.
As of last semester, athletes also go on weekly visits to the oncology and outpatient clinics at the children's hospital to visit patients receiving treatment.
"During this time we will read with the children, play video games, color or just let them tell us about anything that comes to their mind," Munnelly said. "You are able to have a one-on-one interaction with the children and their families."
Munnelly said he hopes Carolina Dreams will expand in the future to encompass more athletes and children.
"I think the most rewarding part of Carolina Dreams for me is just seeing a smile on one of the children's face."
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