Zumba® Love Spreading Hope for Mia The Warrior

There are so many things about the Zumba® community that are incredible. For starters, when you take a Zumba® class, you drip sweat while working on your fitness goals. The icing on the cake is the social aspect of classes. It truly is happy hour! It is a time to connect with friends, talk, and of course dance together. The positive emotional aspects of Zumba® classes are undeniable. It literally feels like you are on a Zumba® high following class. 

The power of Zumba® is amazing, and Shirley Sanchez former Zumba® instructor can attest to just that. Shirley has leveraged the power of the Zumba® community to help her 11-year old daughter Mia's fight against Type 1 Diabetes. Recently Mia was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Unwilling to accept standard medical protocol as the solution, Shirley found hope at Sanoviv Medical Institute in Mexico. Mia's journey requires twelve individual trips to Mexico for stem cell treatments to aid in the regeneration of her cells. These treatments are two day trips, literally down to Mexico for treatment and back the next day. Each trip averages over $3,000. As a single mom who juggles multiple jobs including her own business, she knew she had to do whatever it took to treat her daughter Mia, a.k.a Mia the Warrior. 

Shirley reached out to several instructors in the Zumba® community who have organized, promoted and danced their hearts out at events. These events are solely focused on spreading awareness for Type 1 Diabetes, raising money for Mia's journey and coming together to spread love and hope. Shirley has found comfort in the Zumba® community, many of whom has donated their time and money to support Shirley and Mia. Shirley is so grateful. As we talked I could hear the positive vibes in her voice as she told me that sometimes she doesn't even know the people that are coming together to coordinate events in honor of Mia. Shirley spoke about lessons of humility and forgiveness as part of this process.

"When I do an event and people let it flow, I have a feeling of healing all together. Not only the people who give, but those who received the experience; those moments are much more than a Zumba® class".  Shirley is convinced that Mia's journey is healing other people while she is going through her own medical regimen. She notes that Mia is nothing short of STRONG. BRAVE. & CALM. 

Early on Shirley created a Go Fund Me account that raised over $6,000 in less than two days. Through a combination of fundraisers, raffles and Zumba® events, she has continued to work towards her goal and has raised $14,000 to date. That seems like a lot of money (and it is), but with five more trips to go, there are huge expenses in Shirley's future. During our talk while we were discussing donations, I could hear the gratitude in her voice. "No amount is too small. $5 dollars adds up to a meaningful amount". 

If you feel moved, please consider donating to Mia's journey. More information can be found on the Go Fund Me page: gofundme.com/MiaWarrior. If you want to read more about Mia's journey, search: @Miathewarrior on Facebook. Zumba® has been a HUGE part of Mia's healing. Healing is happening through the integrative stem cell treatments, dietary changes, lifestyle changes, and brought together full circle through the Zumba® community, through dance, and through positive vibes.