SEATTLE - Thousands of people show their support for Children's Hospital by giving money. Much of that money will go toward research and new facilities, but this year alone, about $80 million will go toward what's called "uncompensated care."

Video: No child left behind at Seattle Children's Hospital

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For many families, that means helping to cover massive medical bills that insurance won't pay.

Eight-year-old Dalton Van Ess was born with a growth called a cystic hygroma, a malformation of his lymphatic system.

"It was almost just like another head.  It was that large, that significant," said mom Kelli.

Dalton required extensive medical care, spending months on end at Seattle Children's Hospital.

His parents originally had a $1 million insurance policy, but before Dalton was 2, they'd capped it out.

The Van Ess family was able to get another insurance policy, but care still sometimes exceeded $80,000 a month.

"We're a middle class family but when you talk about exorbitant health care costs like that, there's just no way -- I mean, who could?" said Kelli.

Children's treats all young patients, regardless of a family's ability to pay. The hospital covers the uninsured, but mostly steps in to help fill insurance shortfalls like the Van Ess's.

Dalton's mom has come full circle, and she now works to raise money for Children's Hospital to help other families who've landed in a similar place.

"We feel very blessed, we really do, and we attribute much of that to Children's Hospital," she said.