This is the third article in a three-part series showcasing the families who benefit from the 15-hour Dance Marathon.

Michaela McDonald is 4-year-old girl full of energy and excitement eager for her third Dance Marathon. But a few years ago she was a very sick little girl.

At birth, Michaela’s parents, Annette and Robert of Marshalltown, weren’t aware she had any medical problems. The first sign came when Michaela ran a high fever and the physician was unable to diagnose her.

Tests indicated Michaela had a urinary infection. In August 1999, more tests showed she had a blockage in one of her ureters, the one-way tube leading from her kidneys to her bladder, Annette McDonald said.

Typically, the muscles in the walls of the ureters tighten and relax to force the urine into the bladder, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Web site, www.niddk.nih.gov. This defect of Michaela’s ureters allowed urine to flow back into her kidneys.

A long-term effect of Michaela’s problem is that she suffered some kidney damage when the urine returned to her kidneys.

Since the infection was diagnosed, Michaela has had one major surgery to replace the defective tube. Robert McDonald said until this summer, she was going to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City about every six months for check ups. Now, Michaela will not have to go back to Iowa City unless there is a problem in the future, he said.

Luckily, Michaela has use of 70 percent of both kidneys, Robert McDonald said, “Michaela can live on that 70 percent,” he said. “So unless she needs to have a kidney removed in the future, she will be just fine.”

The McDonald family became acquainted with Dance Marathon while they were in Iowa City shortly after Michaela was diagnosed, Annette McDonald said. At that time, the ISU Dance Marathon committee donated a few items to the children’s pediatric area. Michaela’s grandmother, Janet Minde of Marshalltown, was fortunate enough to talk with them, and they have been involved ever since, Annette McDonald said.

“I think it’s a very good way to help people cope and get away from the problems that they are having,” she said. “It gives them something else to focus on.”

With medical bills and tension on family finances, it is difficult for families to take children to different places, like Adventureland, Annette McDonald said.

Dance Marathon helps provide needed entertainment by taking children and their families to various activities and events throughout the year.

“Michaela has really attached herself to several of the students,” Annette McDonald said.

“She’s become a part of their lives, too.”