Glug

Written by: CorinneAM on Feb 21, 2009 2:30 PM EST

It has become a beloved ritual at Dana-Farber: Every day, children who come to the clinic write their names on sheets of paper and tape them to the windows of the walkway for ironworkers to see. And, every day, the ironworkers paint the names onto I-beams and hoist them into place as they add floors to the new 14-story Yawkey Center for Cancer Care.

The building's steel skeleton is now a brightly colored, seven-story monument to scores of children receiving treatment at the clinic - Lia, Alex, and Sam; Taylor, Izzy, and Danny. For the young cancer patients, who press their noses to the glass to watch new names added every day, the steel and spray-paint tribute has given them a few moments of joy and a towering symbol of hope.

Read the full story here and be sure to watch the video with a tissue nearby.

Dana-Farber is a pretty special place.  My dad's construction company built the center (it was the general contractor on the project) and one of my siblings began treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma when my oldest son was just 3 weeks old.  He's going to celebrate his 13th birthday next Wednesday.

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