It was a special moment for Dominique Bigler, walking into the Holiday Inn Harrisburg/Hershey on Saturday to see friends from across the country waiting for her.
Bigler turned 19 and the nonprofit Jamie’s Dream Team granted her birthday wish.
Bigler has been battling a rare form of cancer since she was 13. She attended a conference for young people with cancer last summer, and made lifelong friends.
They hoped to have a reunion, but airfare was too much. That where Jamie’s Dream Team stepped in and brought them together.
“We can talk about it and it’s like whenever everyone has cancer, it’s like nobody has cancer, because you’re all the same, and no one’s treating you differently,” says Bigler of her friends who share her struggle. “And then everybody knows what you’re talking about, it’s just really cool.”
Jamie’s Dream Team is a Pittsburgh-area charity that grants wishes for people dealing with serious illnesses.