Marching Band Surprises Chemo Patient After Final Treatment

When Ann Trachtenberg, a cancer patient undergoing treatment at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, requested that a marching band serenade her as she left after her final chemotherapy session, she didn’t think her niece would take the request seriously.

The video shows Trachtenberg laughing in surprise when she exits the building to find the band standing in a line and playing the school’s fight song, “On Wisconsin”.

Still, even if it was a joke, it’s also a pretty good idea, right?

Trachtenberg, in a red Wisconsin T-shirt, came out of the UW Carbone Cancer Center to find about a dozen members of the Badger band had already launched a rousing rendition of “On Wisconsin” to mark her milestone. By Wednesday afternoon, it had been shared more than 10,000 times.

Trachtenberg has her niece, Stephanie Reinke-Richter, to thank for contacting the band and getting the ball rolling for the celebration to honor her aunt. The UW Marching Band band, called the Badger Band, had about two months to assemble members, and Monday’s special performance went off without a hitch.

And Kelly Jones, the woman’s primary nurse, told ABC News that it is “kind of neat” that the video has gone viral.