This has been the most amazing weekend for me ... and a closing of a 3.5 year chapter in a story of a little boys fight against cancer. Exactly three years ago this weekend, I ran back-to-back marathons in Death Valley and Las Vegas for a little boy with leukemia. My cousins son Parker was five years old. Through a blog, I raised money, provided education and shared what a family goes through with this life changing diagnosis. I ran them both in a PARKER shirt. And it continued - every race I ran since then, for three years, Ive run in a PARKER shirt. And through the blog and creation of Flat Parker, we continued to share his ups and downs- his race battling this awful disease. And along the journey, we shared others stories, from children with Spina Bifda to cancer, from stories about ALS to stories like that of Meg Cross Menzies and her family. Todays 22 miles, in my PARKER shirt, was different and among the best I have run. On Friday, Parker received a phone call from his doctor: Your bone marrow biopsy came back negative. You are cancer-free. My first-ever run in my PARKER shirt that he did NOT have cancer. Oh, and Friday when Parker called me with the news happened to be my birthday... officially the best gift ever. This weekend concluded two long races - Parkers and mine. And I am so happy to say we both FINISHED STRONG! I share this because I believe in going all in - if you are going to support someone or a cause - go all in. Parkers story is one that needs to be told with passion and conviction - and likely there are others you know whose stories need to be told. And in doing so you will never know who you lift up and inspire along the way. I encourage you to run for those who cannot run for themselves and to live life all in. God Bless. (Six photos include the moment Parker found out he was cancer free, Las Vegas race three years ago this weekend and photos of Parker the same day)
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 02:58:11 +0000
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