 |
 |
 |
Patient Partners
The Marathon Patient Partner Program
Year after year, runners tell us that the most rewarding moment of the entire marathon experience is not crossing the finish line after a grueling 26.2 miles; instead, it’s the moment they award their patient partners with medals of honor the night before the race. Months prior to this event, MGH Marathon staff carefully pair most runners with a patient undergoing treatment at the MGH Pediatric Hematology/Oncology clinic.
For some, this is a brand new relationship, while others run in support
of children they know and love. Our goal is to honor the courageous
young heroes at our hospital, while forging a relationship that will
inspire both the child and the runner. After being matched with a
patient, runners go on to raise funds as they train for the marathon.
Through visits to the clinic and hospital, conversations on the phone, pizza lunches and occasional fun excursions like a Red Sox game, children and runners are able to draw on each other’s strength, and come to see one another as role models who share courage and perseverance. “It’s a real long marathon they have to run,” says runner Andy Friedman who ran in honor of his daughter of the children who undergo cancer therapy. “For me, this is sort of a little taste of what she had to go through. I’m doing it for her so when she’s older she can say, ‘My dad ran the marathon for me.’”
We celebrate both patients and runners at the Pre-Marathon Pasta Dinner, where team members specially honor their patient partners with marathon medals. Dr. Weinstein, chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the MGH and founder of the MGH Marathon Team, says, “It’s truly a ceremony in which you don’t see any dry eyes in the audience. Kids are so proud to be part of the program. Some have been known to wear their medals for weeks after, not even taking them off when they go to sleep.”
On Marathon Day, patient partners and their families gather at mile 20 to cheer on the MGH Team through Heartbreak Hill and on to the finish line. Dr. Steve Alexander, a former fellow in the MGH Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and member of the marathon team, saw his “adopted” patient waiting for him at the top of the hill. “When I was coming up the hill, seeing her big smile really helped pull me through. She is an incredibly bright and enthusiastic kid,” he says.
Few can say they have run a marathon, and even fewer can say they did so in the name of an incredibly brave child fighting cancer. The MGH Patient Partner Program is a unique opportunity for runners to take the marathon experience far beyond the race - supporting their patient partner in a way no one else can.
"I feel like I'm blessed with a lot of things and one of them is getting to know Tommy and being able to run the marathon for him."
- Runner Jennifer Roberts, who overcame a diagnosis of Guillain-Barre syndrome to run
in the marathon in honor of a 7-year-old leukemia patient
For more information, please contact Heather Peach at: hpeach@partners.org
Back to top
|
|
|
|
