Editor’s Note: This is the first in a five-part series profiling Thon families who have benefited from the Four Diamonds Fund.

Sticking her tongue out in deep concentration, she colors flowers in a coloring book. Suddenly, she jumps up from her seat and shuffles to the refrigerator to snatch a piece of bacon -- her latest favorite food. Plopping back in the chair, she brushes a few strands of chestnut brown hair from her face. With her playfulness, energy and full head of hair, she's like any 5-year-old girl.

Isabella Messina, however, has more than liveliness; as an Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon child, she possesses strength beyond her years.

When she was 20 months old, Isabella was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), a rare, fast-growing cancer.

In March 2003, Isabella had a fever that wouldn't go away. For five days Isabella took antibiotics to treat what everyone thought was the flu. With no change in her daughter's condition, her mother, Renee Messina, took Isabella to the doctor again.

This time, Renee noticed a spot on the back of Isabella's right shoulder and a few more spots on her legs.

"As soon as [the doctor] saw it, his disposition kind of changed a little," Renee said.

Isabella's rash was actually petchiae, a rash that signifies a low platelet count.

Immediately, Renee took Isabella to the hospital for blood tests.

Within an hour Renee received a phone call that would turn the next eight months of her life upside down: Isabella was diagnosed with leukemia.

Immediately, she called her husband, Pat, and the family drove to Hershey Medical Center where Isabella began undergoing chemotherapy.

Isabella would undergo about four straight weeks of treatment, then she would go home for a week. This process continued until November.

Fortunately for the Messinas, both parents had insurance that covered the medical costs. Insurance wouldn't cover all of the medications though. The Four Diamonds Fund-- which allocates support for families battling pediatric cancer -- took care of the rest.

"With the way it's set up, we never saw a bill," Renee said. "It's in place to ease some of the concerns."

Bills go through primary insurance first then to Four Diamonds to cover whatever costs insurance won't.

Four Diamonds doesn't just cover medical costs. As soon as the Messinas entered Hershey Medical Center they learned about Four Diamonds support. The fund gave the family gas vouchers to pay for trips home and meal vouchers for Renee and Pat to eat at the hospital.

Both Renee and Pat stayed in the room with Isabella day and night.

"Essentially [we were] living in a hospital for four weeks straight," she said.

Looking back, she laughs. "I think we broke some hospital rules," she said, remembering a nurse who was angry about them staying overnight.

"We'd just say, 'If you had a 2 year old with leukemia, you'd stay here too,'" Renee said.

For eight months, the family watched as Isabella's head of hair turned scraggly and fell out.

For eight months, the family drove back and forth from its home in State College to Hershey Medical Center.

For eight months, the family fought to defy leukemia.

On Nov. 1, 2003, they won. Doctors told the family that Isabella was in complete remission.

Isabella doesn't remember the battle, but her parents will never forget it.

But neither Isabella nor her parents will forget Thon.

"It's just a really special weekend for us as a family to have time together. It's great to see the nurses, doctors and the other families. That's probably the most special part -- getting to see the other families," Renee said.

This year will be the family's fourth Thon. Renee is looking forward to seeing other Four Diamond families because "they're the only people who really know how you feel," she said.

Isabella remembers getting her face painted and getting a manicure at last year's Thon. Acting bashful, she expressed face painting by rubbing her face and manicure by pretending to color her fingernails with crayons.

Isabella was excited about staying up for the pep rally last year, Renee said. The Student-Athlete Advisory Board, which sponsors her, usually hosts its pep rally around midnight -- well past Isabella's bedtime.

Memories of Thon and check ups every three months are a few reminders of the struggle for Isabella, which usually seems far from her mind. Now she spends her time in kindergarten and playing with her 18-month-old brother, Jack.

AML is not hereditary, so Jack does not get tested.

Renee, a Penn State alumna and kinesiology instructor, remembers when she was a student and Thon was held in the White Building and then moved to Rec Hall. She's looking forward to Thon in the Bryce Jordan Center this year.

"I'm really anxious for it to be in the Bryce Jordan Center. I think there's a lot of potential for growth," she said. "It's changing with each move, and it's only gotten bigger and better."