By intern Stephanie Forshee
For the 122nd year, Pasadena will host the Rose Parade this New Year’s Day. The parade themed “Building dreams, friendships and memories” holds special meaning for the youth aboard this year’s Kaiser Permanente float.
10 teenagers and patients of the healthcare provider, including Culver City’s Anum Ebrahim, will grace the Rose Parade with smiles of defeat against illness. The group of teens has individually battled leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, synovial sarcoma, aplastic anemia, amniotic band syndrome and Moyamoya disease.
Ebrahim was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of two. She went into remission after chemotherapy and additional treatments, and overcame other disabilities with her learning and physical coordination.
She has successfully made it to her senior year in high school some 16 years after her diagnosis. She has achieved A’s and B’s and even played for her school’s lacrosse team. She also teaches children to read Arabic at her mosque.
She says that she hopes to inspire others as she participates in the parade, just as her cancer motivated her to help others by going into medicine. She says she plans to prove “You can fight cancer, survive, and thrive.”
The 2011 Rose Parade marks the sixth year for Kaiser Permanente to participate in the event. The previous years’ floats have all received trophies of recognition.
This year, the teens will stand atop a float adorned with more than 20,000 fresh roses. The float entitled “Purrfectly Happy” displays a mother cat and family in a Victorian-inspired garden.
With the depiction of the cats playing and gathering vegetables in a fairy-tale manner, Kaiser Permanente hopes to encourage healthy eating and active living.
“Our health is precious, yet fragile and there are aspects we can’t control, as our brave young riders know,” says Benjamin K. Chu, M.D., president of Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “On what we can control, let’s be proactive.”
Tickets for the parade are available through Sharp Seating and range from $42-$85 per seat, depending on location, plus $30 for a parking permit. Parade fans who want an up-close and personal look at the Rose Parade’s floats can purchase tickets to watch the final stages of float decoration at three different locations in Pasadena, including two locations inside the Rose Bowl stadium. Tickets are also available to view the floats after the parade for $10. Tickets can be purchased at sharpseating.com or by calling (626) 795-4171.
