Brandon is a two-time Hodgkins lymphoma survivor. He was first diagnosed at the age of 16, and then again in his mid 20's. Just before Christmas Brandon had a biopsy done to determine whether his cancer has come back... and they won't receive the results until the end of next week.
This is my cousin Alicia with her two sister and her Buby (grandmother) Edith.
Edith had non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and after several rounds of chemotherapy, she succumbed to an infection in September of 2013.
Today was our longest team run before race day. The full marathoners ran 20 miles, and it was not glorious. It was just barely above freezing, and drizzling off and on for the first 15 miles. For the last 5 miles it poured. It was pretty miserable, and I won't lie... when we passed our last water-stop, with just three miles left to go... I was pretty tempted to pack it in and get a ride back to my car.
But I thought about Brandon, waiting for weeks to find out if his cancer has returned for a third time, and knowing what a grueling ordeal another round of treatment would mean. I thought about Alicia, who lost her Buby to this disease, and how frightened and concerned she must be feeling right now while they wait for Brandon's biopsy results....
And it made me feel determined. Determined to finish my run, for starters... But also determined to continue helping the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society raise funds for research, to find treatments that will save lives.
I run in support of BRANDON, and in memory of EDITH.
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