<p>When University of Florida student Callie Criser was 2 years old, no one thought she would ever make it to her third birthday. </p>
<p>After being diagnosed with an E. coli infection in February 1990, Criser was sent to Tallahassee Memorial hospital, but soon things started to get much worse, she said.</p>
<p>After her internal organs began shutting down, Callie was transported to Shands at the University of Florida, where she remained in a coma for six weeks, flat-lined five times and was pronounced dead twice, she said. Her parents were told there was no hope, she added.</p>
<p>But in true miracle fashion, Callie woke up from her coma to have a normal childhood, with no relapses of the infection that almost took her life. And she has Children’s Miracle Network to thank for many of the machines and treatments that kept her alive during her time at Shands, she said.</p>
<p>Criser, along with more than 1,200 other UF students have been participating this weekend in a CMNChildren’s Miracle Network fundraiser called Dance Marathon.</p>
<p>This year, Dance Marathon is a 26.2-hour event in which “dancers” commit to standing up for the entire event, according to Mallory Ramos, the Dance Marathon public relations overall chair.</p>
<p>That’s right: no kneeling, no sitting and no sleeping from 11:48 a.m. Saturday to 2 this afternoon.</p>
<p>Dance Marathon first started at UF 14 years ago and was a 32-hour event until this year, said Ramos.</p>
<p>“This year we shortened the length of the event to 26.2 hours to represent the length of a marathon,” Ramos said.</p>
<p>The purpose of standing for such a long time is to symbolize the long struggle that each of the Children’s Miracle Network kids face every day they are in the hospital, she said.</p>
<p>“This event has grown tremendously,” Ramos said.</p>
<p>In 1995, Dance Marathon’s first year at UF, the event raised $12,424.66. In 2007, the event raised $370,693.70.</p>
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<p>[Students</a> cut a rug at Dance Marathon - News - GainesvilleSun.com](<a href=“http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20080406/NEWS/804060320]Students”>http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20080406/NEWS/804060320)</p>